The Animal I Have Become
by T. Costa
Summary: Seven years after Dirge of Cerberus. Yuffie, no longer the heir to Wutai, has become a bounty hunter. Things go just fine in life until she's handed a bounty that throws her world askew. Yuffentine, rated for language and sex. Complete.
1. The Dark Inside Of Me

**The Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter One – The Dark Inside Of Me**_

_I can't escape this hell  
So many times I've tried  
But I'm still caged inside_

_Somebody get me through this nightmare  
I can't control myself!_

_So what if you can see  
The dark inside of me?  
No one will ever change this animal I have become  
Help me believe  
It's not the real me  
Somebody help me tame this animal..._

-- Three Days Grace, _Animal I Have Become_

The moon was full, but that had very little to do with the chaos in the streets below.

There was smoke, screaming, and blood dripping off the monster's snout. He lunged his great purple head and struck yet another person, craving blood and flesh.

He roared in fury. His prey were getting fewer and fewer, hiding. Getting smarter. This just wouldn't do.

There, a smaller one. They were the most tender. He dove and to his surprise, did not make his mark. A young girl, with a familiar face, stood between him and the cowering teenager, her glowing weapons drawn.

"You will not hurt him." She said, determination written on her face. Then her face fell. "V-Vincent Valentine?"

A weak moment. Galian Beast roared in triumph and struck the girl, who dodged at the last moment, dragging the boy with her. "Run home, Denzel!" She cried, brandishing her weapons at the monster again.

"If you wish to die..." Galian hissed, diving at her again.

She spun on her toes, lightly, her years in Deepground unforgotten. Just as the beast passed her, she struck. The downstroke was swift, but not swift enough.

The monster grabbed her wrist and in one smooth movement, snapped it in half. She cried out in pain, but spun by the hand he was still clinging to and stabbed at him with her other weapon.

He was strong. She was going to die.

Shelke had thought she would die several times in her twenty-six years, but never by the hand of a friend.

"You'll pay for this." She said. "The others will fight you."

"Let them come." The Galian Beast said, sniffing her, searching for the sweet spot.

Ah yes. The neck. How could he have forgotten? Licking his chops, he set upon the girl, ignoring her screaming and fighting.

About halfway through, his host stirred, violently, from within him. He laughed, a little maniacally, which is normal because he's a demon.

To his great alarm, he felt his host take firm control over the body they shared and drop the girl's corpse, before launching the both of them into the heavens.

"Shelke..." Vincent's voice said. He closed his bestial eyes and headed for the mountains.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie Kisaragi was many things. She was a woman (and was she – she'd bloomed quite a bit in the past few years. Enough to make her think that perhaps one of her parents was not fully Wutain), she was a bounty hunter, she was a member of AVALANCHE, and she was a princess.

But one thing Yuffie was not was a pilot. She wasn't even a good passenger. So when she found herself at the helm of a small plane, when the pilot had unexpectedly run to the bathroom to puke, she was startled.

To the say the least.

"'s the last time I drink rum when I know I'm takin' ya somewhere, kid!" Cid's grizzled voice said, from the little cubicle at the other end of the Tiny Bronco.

Yuffie, eyes wide, drew a cigarette from the pocket of the long-sleeved shirt she'd thrown over her scanty outfit to protect against the chill of altitude, and lit it, knowing she was in for one hell of a ride.

And boy was she right. By the time Cid had finally emerged, empty-stomached, from the bathroom of his little plane, she'd flown them through the worst patch of turbulence she had yet to experience.

Yuffie may not have known how to fly, but she knew how to read weather readings. She feigned ignorance when Cid threw her a dirty look.

"Don't gimme that look, Yuff, I know better. You read the SATSCAN same as I can. You went through that shit on purpose." Cid, lighting a companion cigarette to Yuffie's, sat himself down and grimaced slightly, before buckling himself in securely and taking control of the plane.

"I think I did pretty good." Yuffie said, leaning back nonchalantly. She set one leg atop the other in a crossed fashion and jiggled one of her booted feet, bored now that Cid was back in command.

"Yeah." Cid said, begrudgingly. "But you coulda fuckin' killed us."

"Oh, come on." Yuffie said, rolling her eyes and flicking her ashes into the little ashtray Cid kept near the instrument panel. "You and I both know that the minute she went into a dive you'd be out here, saving your little baby."

"And get puke on the instrument panel?" Cid snorted at that impossibility.

"This is Midgar Air. State your identity and destination." A cool voice said.

"Midgar Air, this is the Tiny Bronco, passengers Cid Highwind and Yuffie Kisaragi, destination Kalm." Yuffie said into her headset. She may not be a pilot, but she had served as copilot many a time, a job that, when Cid was around, meant she got to talk into the microphones and file flight plans. Cid had always, to quote him directly, "Hated that shit."

"Copy that, Tiny Bronco. You are cleared for landing in Kalm, runway 2-2-9. Advise coming about, as there is a strong tailwind."

Yuffie flicked her eyes at Cid, who nodded.

"Roger that, Midgar Air. Over and out." She flicked a switch to turn off her mic and made a few notes on the clipboard, noting which runway they would use and what direction they would be coming from.

"Hang on a sec, here, Yuff, we've gotta do a slight spin to get into the right direction." Cid said, chomping on the end of his Marlboro and turning the controls, ever so slightly.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and extinguished her smoke, before clipping her restraints into place. Cid was an excellent pilot, of course, but there was a strong tailwind, which meant that when they turned around there would be a strong headwind. There was always the chance something would go wrong and flip the plane.

Yuffie was no pilot, but she knew her aerodynamics. It had been required at college.

That's right. Yuffie Kisaragi, 26 years old, had graduated with a degree in aerospace dynamics. She didn't use it much, though – she was a bounty hunter. Rufus had not yet the funds to restart the Shinra Space Program, which is what she was waiting for.

Being a princess is so boring. And besides, now that her father had remarried and she had a two-year-old brother, she didn't need to be around anymore; she wasn't the heir to the throne and frankly, that pleased her immensely.

They were landing when a voice crackled in her ears. "Yuffie, Cid, is that you? Over."

"Teef?" Yuffie said, flicking the mic on. "Teef, what's up? You sound upset."

"Oh, Yuffie, Cid! We've been trying to get hold of you for eight hours! Something horrible has happened..." Tifa trailed off and Yuffie knew that the older woman was crying.

Yuffie glanced at Cid, who was looking concerned but trying to land a plane at the same time.

"Teef, we'll be on the ground in about ten minutes. Meet us at the plane and we can talk while we do the post-flight check. Cid's a little preoccupied right now."

"I...Sure. I'll be waiting." Tifa said. She hiccuped. Yuffie wondered if she'd lost yet another baby – it was really sad that Tifa, who had so much nurturing instinct in her, could not bear her husband, Cloud, even one child of their own.

Exactly ten minutes later, Tifa ran up to the plane, with it's rotors still whirring, tears falling from her delicate eyelashes. Yuffie knew then that this was not yet another miscarriage.

"Oh, Yuffie." The older woman threw herself into an embrace with the shinobi, and cried. "It's so horrible."

Yuffie blinked. "What happened?" Cid was coming around the nose of the plane, having jumped out as soon as the brakes were set.

"It's Shelke. They found her this morning."

**- - - - - **

Shelke had never understood funerals, so Yuffie found it vaguely ironic that they were holding one for her.

She, Cid and Barret stood at the back of the crowded church in Kalm, smoking cigarettes and frowning. That the girl, who had slowly but surely evolved into a likable person over the past seven years since they'd all met her, had died in such a horrific manner, was just...awful.

Yuffie remembered when they'd showed her the remains. Pieces of her were missing; she looked like so much ground meat, with a neck and face attached.

She wondered what could have done so much damage in the – no pun intended – calm streets of Kalm. Tifa hadn't said what had killed her, and at the time it hadn't really been appropriate to ask.

So when she, directly after the funeral and on the way to the reception, had gotten a page on her communique, she politely excused herself, not thinking anything of it.

Yuffie felt like she'd been punched in the gut when she read the bounty file.

VINCENT VALENTINE – Wanted DEAD or ALIVE for the murder of Shelke Rui and several other townspeople of Kalm. Dangerous, approach at your own risk. Bounty: 1,000,000 gil.

She gaped, and then used the device to delve into the world 'net, searching the sites for news about Kalm. Finally, she found one. It was a video; she turned the sound up.

A reporter stood there, destruction behind her. It was obviously a side-street of Kalm.

"This is the scene in Kalm today, after a monster attacked, killing 42 townspeople, amongst them Shelke Rui, sister of Shalua Rui, celebrated WRO scientist who perished in the Deepground incident seven years ago. Shelke was a former member of Deepground herself. No videos or pictures were taken of the beast that caused such destruction in the formerly-quiet town, but eyewitnesses say it looked like the legendary Behemoth, only upright and much, much smaller. While the monster was not described as having wings, those who were there say that it could, indeed, fly." The reporter shook her head. "It is a tragic day in Kalm."

Yuffie closed her eyes. Vincent's Galian Beast. Vincent had attacked Kalm.

It seemed so horrible; the Vincent Valentine she knew wasn't the kind to seek out violence – it usually found him, not the other way around. Something was really wrong.

She went back to the reception and cornered Tifa.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She said, planting her hands on her hips. Tifa looked up at her through tear-stained eyes, questioning.

Yuffie thrust the communique at her. She read Vincent's bounty profile and her mouth formed a small O.

"It was a monster." She said, shaking her head. "But now that I think about it...it did...it looked like one of his...his monsters." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Vincent did this."

She dissolved into more tears as Yuffie looked around, knowing the one guest she absolutely needed to talk to was in attendance.

Yuffie found him, surrounded by his faithful Turks.

"Rufus, what gives?" She demanded, thrusting her slightly damp, thanks to Tifa, communique at him.

He didn't even bother to look at it. "Vincent attacked Kalm. He has to answer for it." He said, softly.

"But DoA is kind of harsh, don't you think?" She asked. "He did save the world three times. I think there's a little leniency to be called for here." She knew she was talking madness, but a hard knot had formed in her stomach at the idea of some of the bounty hunters she knew going after Vincent. They were ruthless, and loved DoA calls. Vincent could fight them, but there were so many. He didn't stand a chance.

Rufus sighed and gestured to the door of the reception hall. "Let's discuss this outside." He said. He gestured for Tseng to follow him and the rest to stay.

Tseng, Rufus and Yuffie exited the room and walked a ways before continuing their discussion.

"Yuffie, something is wrong with this picture." Rufus said. He shook his head. "It's unfortunate. I don't want to condemn Vincent. I want him alive, because I think we've finally developed a way to...extract the beasts from within him. Hojo's apprentice worked it out from his notes. But he cannot be allowed to do this again. Surely you understand that; either he comes in alive and we fix him, or he comes in dead, and everyone is saved. It's one or the other."

Yuffie glanced down at her communique. The bounty hadn't been accepted yet.

"I'll take it." She said. She pressed her thumb on the thumbplate, indicating that she had taken on the bounty and no one was to attempt it for 48 hours. "But only because I don't want him dead. DoA was a little harsh. You didn't even mention a preference for having him brought in alive in the file."

"There are lives at stake here, Yuffie." Rufus said. "Shinra is in charge of justice, and I intend to make sure it is served. We still need to know why he attacked."

"Obviously, he's out of his fucking mind." Yuffie said, shoving the device into it's holster on her belt. She exhaled. "Let the others know that something's come up. I better find him before someone decides to break the rules."

**- - - - - **

Vincent was growing to dread the nights.

Nights were when Galian Beast came out to play, and tormented him and whomever he managed to find.

He was in a cave. Where, he had no idea. He almost always woke up in a cave and was unsurprised to see the trend continue.

For the past five months it had been his routine. Go to sleep, become the beast, kill people, wake up in a cave. Where the cave was, he had no idea.

His mind was tormented. He had no idea what was causing the monster within him to act up, but he knew he had killed countless people – men, women, children, and Shelke, who was neither woman nor child.

Every morning, when he awoke to the sun's bright rays – for the monster invariably chose east-facing caves – he felt as if he were less and less human, and more and more an animal.

And he could remember it all – the smell of burning flesh and chaos, and the taste and feel of human blood running down his throat.

He wished fervently that the monster could have confined his activities to other monsters. There were hundreds of them, thousands even, throughout the planet. But no, the Galian Beast craved human flesh and blood.

He also wished someone would stop him. He figured that was impossible, though; he had attempted suicide multiple times only to have his body heal before his very eyes. His metabolism ate poisons, his flesh removed bullets and sealed the wounds almost instantly. Hojo's manipulations had worked very well.

His feelings of hopelessness grew every day. The first time he'd thought it was a once-off, that the old monsters had flared up, but the Galian Beast had started coming more and more steadily during the nights, until finally he was attacking every night, and driving Vincent insane. Forces were at work that Vincent was incapable of properly understanding. Either that, or he was just becoming weaker.

Personally, he suspected both.

He had stopped eating, stopped sleeping, all in the vain hope that a weak host body would weaken the monster within. It was all a failure; Galian Beast ate enough for both of them nights when he didn't take care of himself. So it was with a heavy heart that he sluggishly stood and left to seek some form of sustenance, his mind filled with memories of better days.

At first he thought of those days in Nibelheim, with Lucrecia, but ever since Deepground those memories had become tainted. No, now he thought to his time with AVALANCHE. And he tried to avoid thoughts of how his friends would despise him.

If Shelke had survived, they would already despise him. And rightly so. He was a monster; inhuman, a god of destruction. If Shelke had died, they may have still put two and two together; Tifa and Cloud lived in Kalm, and Denzel had seen him. Cid and Yuffie were constantly in and out of Kalm; Yuffie, because that was where Rufus had set up the bounty hunter base, and Cid because it was a convenient stopping point for long flights. Barret came often as well, to let Marlene visit Denzel, and to see Tifa and Cloud. Really, all of AVALANCHE could have been there last night; it was completely possible.

It was all for the best. If anyone could take him out, it was AVALANCHE. He closed his eyes in pain; he hadn't spoken to any of them in...years. It seemed that the last time he'd ever see any one of them was as they were killing him.

He'd just killed a wild chocobo and managed to stake it out over a fire to cook when an unfamiliar sound pinged through his consciousness. His eyes widened as he realized that it was his phone, which had not rung in months and had not been charged recently, either. He was surprised to find that the thing still worked.

He looked at the caller ID. Yuffie. He flipped it open.

"Vincent?" Yuffie said. She could hear his ragged breathing. "Vincent, are you there?"

"Yuffie." Vincent said.

"Vincent, why? How could you?" He could hear her gasping for breath. "How could you do that to Shelke?"

So they did know. All the better. He closed his eyes.

"Stop it before he kills again." Vincent said. It was the first time he had openly admitted to someone that something was going on. Before he could comprehend that, he gasped as a pain shot through his arm and his hand forced him to drop the cellular phone. He roared angrily as the Galian Beast forced an early transformation.

The cooking chocobo forgotten, the beast let loose with a cry that made birds take flight and nearly deafened Yuffie, who was still listening. Then the beast launched itself into the sky.

"Vincent? VINCENT?!" Yuffie's voice screamed through the phone, tinny. Then the phone shut itself off, a "Low Battery" alert flashing before function ceased.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie was already on her way to Vincent's location, which she'd found by hacking the Shinra PHS data network (She would never, ever, ever let Rufus know she'd discovered his password somewhere; it was way the hell too useful) when his phone cut out. She frowned, a panicky feeling coming over her. Flipping open her phone again, she dialed Rufus and left him a voice mail.

"Rufus, I talked to Vincent. I think the Galian Beast is acting independently. I'm going to try to find him now." She shut her phone off, not wanting it to go off while she was hunting a monster, and did the same with her communique.

Setting a brisk pace on her chocobo, she set off toward where Vincent had last been. It was possible that he was nearby. It was also possible that she wouldn't survive the trip.

Yuffie had changed a lot in the past ten years; she was no longer that spunky 16-year-old girl. She was hardened and mature and curvaceous, and she didn't get motion sickness anymore. But one thing remained the same; she couldn't let a friend of hers suffer, and she couldn't let him kill anymore.

Then she paused, the rhythmic sound of the golden chocobo striding a soothing counterpoint to her chaotic thoughts. She hadn't seen Vincent in damn near four years. No one had. She had no idea if he even looked the same. He could have grown a beard and cut his hair and started wearing normal clothes, and then she'd never fucking find him.

Oh well. Best to worry about that when the time came.

She was just thinking about that when there was a rushing noise and a roar, and then a knock upside her head. She was falling off the chocobo, which was warking in alarm.

She closed her eyes, knowing that this was it; she was going to die.

"You shouldn't have interfered, girl!" A rough voice said. She looked up into the evil eyes of the Galian Beast, and she fainted.

_Author's Notes: I'm at it again! Another Yuffentine! Haha! Poor Vincent. He always gets fucked with, doesn't he?_

_Read? Review!_


	2. I'm Inside, Open Your Eyes

**The Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Two – I'm Inside, Open Your Eyes**_

_I'm your dream, make you real  
I'm your eyes when you must steal  
I'm your pain when you can't feel  
Sad but true  
I'm your truth, telling lies  
I'm your reason, alibis  
I'm inside, open your eyes  
I'm you_

-- Metallica, _Sad But True_

When Yuffie awoke, she was alone in a cave, and surprised to be alive.

Unfortunately, she had several broken bones and open wounds, which were not only painful, but debilitating in that she could not walk, as her left femur seemed to have snapped in half.

Helpless, she reached for her phone, which was crushed. With a wail, she reached for her communique, which was missing entirely. She was doomed, then. She'd taken this job knowing that she might die, but when it slapped her in the face like this, she didn't know what to do. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, and promptly dissolved into giggles, tears streaming down her face.

After that, she looked about the cave. It was decent sized and there were gouge marks on the wall. She could actually see where Vincent had won over the transformation – Galian Beast's claws turning into Vincent's pointed bootprints. Obviously, something was very, very wrong. And she'd gone and gotten herself into the middle of it.

Then she saw it, written in the dirt with a finger or stick, right near her. It was one word, surrounded by pointed footprints.

_Wait_.

**- - - - - **

Vincent was beside himself with grief. There was no way a young woman like Yuffie could have taken on Galian Beast, no matter what she thought. The monster was exactly that, a monster, and Yuffie's rules for battle mattered little to him.

His thoughts went back to the ninja. In the past four years since he'd seen her, she'd grown up considerably. Her hair was longer, down to mid-back, and her figure had filled into a woman's rather than a little girl's. The only reason he'd been able to tame Galian temporarily was because of those facts – that Yuffie was now distinctly a woman and pleasurable on the eyes. The Galian Beast had a weakness for pretty women.

He looked at Yuffie's communique as he walked into the little town. He'd had no idea he was so close to something resembling civilization, but using her communique's GPS feature he'd been able to find his way into town using her golden chocobo.

Vincent ignored the odd looks people gave him; he was sure he was quite a sight. Mad eyes, disheveled hair, and distinctly unkempt. There was stubble on his face and he looked as if he hadn't bathed in several months.

In reality it had only been a few weeks, but dirt tended to cluster.

He had gil. In fact, he had plenty of it. He'd had little chance to spend it in his self-enforced isolation, and it grew with every monster he killed. So purchasing a mastered Restore materia, a fire materia, and some other items was not a problem.

He was surprised to have gotten back to the chocobo without any disturbances. He'd turned on the communique to find that a bounty was out for him. For all he cared, they could have him, but he had to care for Yuffie first; at least mend her broken bones before sending her into town to get better cared for.

As he loaded the things he'd purchased into the chocobo's side-bag, he caught a glimpse of himself in a shop window and paused, stunned at the wild man staring back at him.

He shook his head and hopped onto the chocobo, kicking the bird into a trot that was so harsh it threatened to throw him off. He didn't care.

Nothing really mattered at this point, except getting back to Yuffie before nightfall.

**- - - - - **

Rufus Shinra was a man with a great deal on his mind. He was in charge of the Shinra company, restarted after Meteorfall, a conglomerate that ran most of the world's day-to-day businesses. From providing electric power (provided by solar energy and wind and water – he'd outlawed mako), to running the world's civil protection units and hospitals.

But right now, he was not thinking of electricity or police action. He had other things on his mind.

For instance, the marked upswing in monster attacks in the past month. They weren't all Vincent – in fact, he hesitated to say that even half of them were. The monsters normally kept well outside of towns, sticking to uninhabited parts of the world. Nowadays, one couldn't be safe within the city limits; the monsters were boldly venturing in and attacking whomever they first lay eyes on, dragging everyone from the old and infirm down to squalling infants out to do who knows what to them.

In fact, Vincent's attacks followed a very similar pattern. Rufus could tell when he was attacking versus normal monster attacks. Monsters came in, grabbed someone, and left. Vincent tormented the people for as long as he could, often staying until just before dawn.

There was no rhyme or reason to the attacks, either by Vincent or the regular monsters. They came and went with no apparent pattern or relation to each other. Whatever was going on, the monsters were getting antsy, and it was affecting his people.

He sighed and turned on his phone. He'd been avoiding it all day, and now that the sun was starting to set he figured he must turn it on. The excuse of a funeral would only last so long.

There was, oddly, only one voice message. He listened. Yuffie was going after Vincent, and had spoken to him.

He frowned; it was getting near dark. Yuffie had called him several hours ago and there was no other voice mail. And the Galian Beast only attacked after dark.

He logged into the PHS network and attempted to locate her unit. It was off the map.

That wasn't good. That meant the unit had been destroyed; even when it was off, it sent out a homing signal. However...

Her communique was still online. It was located near a desert town on the middle continent. Zooming in on the map, he saw that it was somewhere near a river and a cave.

It was something to go on. If he hadn't heard from Yuffie by morning, he would send a party out there to recover the communique, and hopefully she would be with it.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie held back a scream as Vincent stumbled into the cave, a large burden on his shoulders. He looked ...mad. Not mad as in angry. Mad as in completely batshit fucking insane.

He set the package down and glanced in her direction, perhaps surprised to find her awake and alive. "Yuffie." His voice was low, harsh, as if he didn't use it often. "I cannot say it is good to see you."

"Likewise." She spat out. The vehemence in her voice exhausted her, and sent twinges of pain down her frame.

Vincent glanced out the cave opening. "I don't have much time. Perhaps an hour or two. I must ...repair the damage I have caused, and then you must leave. Fast."

"Uh uh." Yuffie said, sitting up despite the agony it caused her. "I don't think so, buster. You take off for four years and then start attacking people, and you don't expect me to ask questions?"

Vincent's eyes darted about, nervously. "Yuffie, do not ask them. Please. He will return."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't even ask him questions?

"It was...very hard to overpower him so that he would not kill you, Yuffie." Vincent said, roughly, turning to dig into the pack he'd brought in. "I do not think I have the strength to do it a second time."

She closed her mouth and crossed her arms, ignoring the pain in her shoulders. It felt like something had bitten her there, and she was pretty sure she didn't want to look.

She refused to show her fear of him. Vincent was her friend, even if he was also a murderous monster. She forced herself to not shy away from him when he approached to clean her wounds.

He stripped off his glove, which was filthy, and removed the gauntlet, revealing a pale human hand. Yuffie had never seen him without the great metal claw, and the sight of it was...mundane.

He made quick work of swabbing off the dirt and blood from her wounds with a wet washcloth before dabbing rubbing alcohol on them, which she tensed at. The shit hurt.

Then he turned to her leg. He sighed and grasped it, making her gasp in pain.

"You may hit me after, if you wish." He said, wryly. Then, without warning, a quick jerk set the bone to rights. He fixed a few other broken bones in this manner; at the end Yuffie succumbed and screamed in pain, making Vincent wince in sorrow.

He pulled out the restore materia and cast the highest level of cure he could manage in his current state – cure2 – and Yuffie instantly felt loads better. Her scrapes closed over and she could feel her bones repairing themselves.

She let out a sigh. She wasn't all better – she could feel that she couldn't yet walk on the bone – but she felt immensely more productive than she had moments ago.

Vincent cleaned up, burying the bloodied washcloth and medical implements quickly so that the Galian Beast wouldn't sense the blood, and then returned to the pack. He dug something out, and brought it to Yuffie.

It was a boxed meal and a bottle of lemonade

For some reason, it brought tears to her eyes. "Thanks." She said, ducking her head so Vincent wouldn't see them. She took the proffered food and dug in. She was starving. She vaguely heard Vincent cast fire to start a little, cheery, warming flame in the middle of the cave before moving away, but her mouth was full of noodles and sauce, and it was the only thing in her mind.

Across the room, Vincent sat with his own boxed lunch – or else his hunger would drive the Galian beast to more killing – and a bottle of water, eating and not looking at Yuffie. Once he had eaten he would have the strength to cast cure3, which would completely repair her. And then he could send her off on the chocobo. Hopefully, she would get far enough away before nightfall, which was fast closing in.

The civilized part of him, the part that knew which kinds of wines went with red meat and who had written the Iliad, enjoyed the meal, for it was the first somewhat professionally-prepared meal he had eaten in several months. The majority of him didn't care as long as he could somehow stem the flow of blood tonight.

Oddly, he didn't feel the stirrings of the beast at the moment. Sundown was less than an hour away at this point. Normally the monster would make himself known to Vincent around this point.

He didn't take the time to wonder about it. He stood, withdrawing the Restore materia again and kneeling before Yuffie, who had just finished eating, knowing that this time he would heal her completely. Cure3 tingled on her skin, a green, soothing magic settling into her body and repairing her. A minty fresh scent filled the air.

She stretched. "Ah." And a smile. A real smile. He hadn't seen one of those...in months. "All better!" She jumped up.

Vincent handed her her communique.

"So you took it." She frowned. "Then you know why I'm here, Vincent."

"Of course." He said. "But I do not think it wise that you stay much longer, Yuffie. Nightfall is soon...and then..."

His jaw clamped shut.

"Look...Vincent..." Yuffie looked at him, frowning but not pitying, which was good because Vincent did not think he could take pity right now. "I'll leave, but tomorrow – tomorrow morning – go to Kalm. Rufus says he thinks his scientists can..." She trailed off, staring at him. He was pointedly not looking in her direction, but she could see the signs of grief there.

"Is Shelke...did she make it?" Vincent asked, his jaw struggling.

Yuffie shook her head sadly.

"I cannot return to Kalm, Yuffie. It...would not be appropriate." He glanced in her direction.

"But Rufus thinks he can fix you!" She blurted out.

"Go away, Yuffie." Vincent said. He sounded tired and a little bit scared. She wondered if Galian Beast was starting to take control.

"Fine. Just remember, Vincent...Some of us do give a shit about you. And I'm not giving up the bounty, so you'll be seeing more of me." She glared at him and stormed out of the cave, giving a whistle for her chocobo.

He watched her ride away and then turned, feeling the monster begin his onslaught. Odd, that even though night had fallen, Galian Beast had not transformed in front of Yuffie. Perhaps he wanted to be able to watch her move before he attempted to kill her.

He roared, helplessly, as fur and horns replaced flesh and clothing. His gauntlet and glove, forgotten, reflected the transformation in the firelight.

Several miles away, Yuffie heard Vincent's animal roar and stopped her chocobo, staring up at the cave morosely. She'd better get out of here if she wanted to stay alive long enough to save Vincent Valentine from his fate.

**- - - - - **

She found a pay phone in Corel, the closest major town she'd been to.

"Hello." A terse voice answered.

"Rufus, it's Yuffie." She said.

"Oh, thank God." He said, relief evident in his voice. "Your phone wasn't pinging the network."

"No, it got ...well, it's gone. I'm coming back to Kalm, tonight. You still there?"

"Yes." Rufus replied. He sighed. "I just kept thinking what Cid would do to me if he found out I'd let you take a bounty this dangerous." A weak laugh.

Yuffie laughed too, but it was a humorless one. "Vincent isn't in control of the beast, Rufus. You need to call off that bounty, or at least remove the DoA. We need him alive, or else we'll never know what's going on."

"Yuffie, be careful." Rufus' voice said. "I can remove the DoA, but right now that's not important. Stay on the chocobo, and go fast. Monsters have been attacking, even in towns, a lot lately. You're one of my best bounty hunters; I can't have them dragging you off."

"I'll be careful." She promised him. "I'd better go. It's getting really dark. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Be careful!" She heard him urging her as she hung up the phone.

She got the chocobo and struggled up onto his back, glancing around her; she felt like someone was watching her. Shrugging, she kicked the chocobo into gear and headed over the mountains, grateful that the golden bird knew how to climb them.

The journey over the ocean was long and cold, and she was so glad that she didn't get motion sickness anymore. So freakin' glad.

When she finally saw the bright lights of Midgar and the soothing, dim street lamps of Kalm, she was disheveled and tired. Before she reported in to Rufus, she made a stop at the apartment she kept there – she rarely used it, seeing as she never stayed in a place for very long, but a much-needed change of clothing and a bath were called for.

While she showered, she examined her hands, which had grown rough in the past few hours, what with fighting a monster and all. She swore to herself that she'd get a manicure once everything with Vincent was over.

That was the first moment when she realized that either she or Vincent, for real, might not make it out of this alive. Shelke hadn't, after all. She'd accepted when she became a bounty hunter that danger was a part of the work, but she'd always, at the back of her mind, discounted it. Even her brush with death earlier that day hadn't struck her quite as it did then.

She imagined a pool of blood; the figure in the center of it alternated from her, torn into pieces and howling as the Galian Beast ripped into her, and Vincent, dying slowly from wounds inflicted by her shuriken or the trusty handgun that all bounty hunters were issued.

The image scared her so thoroughly, the idea of Vincent Valentine, who had cheated death so many times, dying by her hand...or her, by his.

And how many other members of AVALANCHE would get caught up in it? Tifa already knew who had killed Shelke; how many phone calls had been placed that day, alerting everyone? How many of them would be killed? She shuddered – Marlene and Denzel would certainly get involved too. Denzel had just passed the age of majority, 16, and Marlene was only a few days away from her 16th birthday. She would never forgive herself if they died, and she had a feeling Barret and Tifa would feel the same.

She shuddered and stepped out of the shower, the water having grown cold, before drying herself off and choosing an outfit from those she stored at the apartment. She chose a pair of knee-length blue, soft leather boots, a pair of black shorts, and a blue tank top with matching unattached sleeves that she affixed to her upper arm, conveniently hiding the ribbon she wore at all times. The sleeves went down to her wrists and were bordered in gold.

She brushed out her hair and quickly braided it, then began adorning her person with her normal weapons – gun in holster, extra ammunition clip, a spare box of bullets, knife. These all went on her belt – except for the knife, which went into a sheath in her boot. Her shuriken she slung over her back on a holster. On the far side of her belt, she slung some more, specialized ammunition and a rifle, which Vincent had given her a long time ago after he received the Death Penalty. That rifle had saved her ass more times than she could count.

Then she began storing her other items she always kept with her in the various pockets in the boots and shorts, and slings on her belt. ID, communique, chapstick, small first aid kit, and a few elixirs. Oh, and the all-important pack of cigarettes, which she extracted from her overlarge freezer. The freezer was filled with cartons of her brand of cigarette and some frozen TV dinners.

She checked her materia slots quickly and adorned a piece of armor to add more. Then she picked up a brown knapsack from hundreds just like it a box in her closet – there had been a sale a few years ago and she'd bought the stock out. They were absolutely perfect for what she used them for, but she always wound up losing them. They were durable canvas with two straps to hold on the shoulders, a drawstring enclosure, and just enough space for three meals, ready to eat, a pup tent, six bottles of water, a small flashlight, pack of cigarettes and a slightly expanded first aid kit. She had plenty of these things stored throughout the apartment (having also bought out the stock on waterproof pup tents and MRE's in the same sale), and she packed her emergency kit quickly. She seriously regretted not having one on her when she was caught unawares by the Galian Beast.

Looking at her stock of supplies in her storage closet, she figured she'd better pay a visit to the bulk warehouse sometime soon. She was running low on water, flashlights, and batteries, and could probably do to put together a few more of the little first aid kits she'd developed – they contained three suchers, a tiny bottle of rubbing alcohol, a roll of gauze and a roll of medical tape, a low-level fire materia and a low-level restore materia. She kept them in ziploc baggies, and she only had a few left. She would have to spend quite a few hours assembling them but they were life-savers. She made a note on her dry-erase board: "water, flashlights, batteries, suchers, rub. alc., gauze, med. tape, materia." She'd know what materia. Underneath that she put "To do: make more medical kits."

Yuffie, tired as she was, didn't intend on sleeping that night. Once she was fully equipped, she turned off the lights, securely locked the door using her palmprint, and skipped off toward the office in Kalm that she knew Rufus would be at.

It was nearly midnight when she showed up and Rufus, being a workaholic like no other, was still there, looking at some reports on monster attacks. She didn't know they were the same reports he'd been looking at when she called four hours earlier; no, Rufus had not come to any conclusions and it frustrated the hell out of him. His face didn't show it, of course, because Rufus is just cool like that.

"Checking in." She said.

''bout damn time." The tired President muttered. He glanced up. "You're going out again?"

"Soon. I told Vincent to come here and he refused...said it wasn't appropriate...after what happened to Shelke..." She sighed and shrugged. "So that means I have to go hunting during the daylight hours, and I'll have to take off soon. I planted a tracking device on his cloak so when Galian Beast transforms, I should know exactly where he is." She frowned. "Vincent...didn't know why this was happening. It's tormenting him, Rufus."

"It'd torment me, too." Rufus said. He closed the file and stood. "You have time for something to eat...?"

Yuffie realized how hungry she was; the idea of a real meal, that hadn't been boxed to go, or sitting dehydrated for several years, sent her mouth into salivation. "Sure." She said. She looked at her watch. "I can't leave until I get a new phone, anyway."

Rufus eyed her, and chuckled. "I suppose you want me to issue you a new phone, then. Probably one of those all-in-one deals you've been drooling over, but wouldn't actually fork out the money to pay for it yourself?"

Yuffie put on her innocent look.

"That stopped working when you turned 24, Yuffie. Let's go, we'll hit up R&D on the way to the restaurant."

**- - - - - **

Yuffie really had forgotten what a good meal felt like. Courtesy of President Shinra himself, she got a good steak dinner. She sighed happily as she pushed the now-empty plate away.

"Thanks, Rufus. I needed that."

"I figured." Rufus said, dryly. He'd chosen a steak dinner as well; a different cut that was a little pricier. And because he wasn't returning to work, he got wine with his, whereas Yuffie had to deal with soda and water. She pouted about that for a while, before she remembered what had happened last time she'd ridden the chocobo drunk.

They had a private booth in the private room, so they could carry on a conversation with a reasonable expectation of privacy. Rufus assured her he had taken the Dead or Alive mark on Vincent's bounty, but he hadn't reduced the size of the award, in the hopes that SOMEONE would take him to Shinra Headquarters in Healin (which was along the coastline to the west of Kalm, some twenty minutes by chocobo), where he could be put to right.

Yuffie assured him that Vincent was not doing these things, but a separate entity entirely. He nodded thoughtfully as she described what had gone on (including Vincent fixing her up after Galian Beast had attacked her). She, meanwhile, was drooling over her new phone slash PDA slash music player, the newest model Shinra had released. She promised herself she'd take better care of this model.

"Well, I'll add that to his case file. If he really isn't acting of his own accord, he'll be absolved of everything." Rufus smiled. "Not that I don't trust you, or Vincent, Yuffie, but we've got to have some semblance of procedure here or everything falls apart."

Yuffie nodded. "I'm not offended."

Rufus shook his head and chuckled. "You've changed a lot, Yuffie. It shows." With that, he stood. "I must get to bed soon, I have a long day ahead of me. I'll go take care of the bill." His eyes appealed to her. "Try to get some rest, Yuffie?"

"I'll try." She lied. She had no intention of sleeping. She'd run home, load some music onto her new phone, and take off. Daybreak was about five hours away, and she figured that she'd spend the time preparing and packing up her chocobo, Akai.

Things don't always work out as planned. She did go home and load some music on her computer, so that much she held to. However, she'd just put it into it's shiny new holster on her belt and started to pack her much larger road pack with essentials when she heard a knock at her door.

For the second time in twenty-four hours, she came face to face with the Galian Beast. She screamed as the monster scooped her up into it's arms, gear and all, and flew off. She'd have continued screaming, but a useful sleep spell knocked her out cold.

_Author's Notes: For future reference for everyone, I will be going by the Final Fantasy Seven timeline as outlined in the Dirge of Cerberus strategy guide. It says Vincent spent 23 years in the coffin at Nibelheim, and was therefore 50 years old when they found him. Of course, he still looks like the hot, hot piece of ass that he was at the age of 27. But anyway, I got into a serious debate about the timeline of FF7 with Cally, my beta-reader, and decided to use the "official" one as printed in the book. So that means that in this fic, Vincent is 27 physically, and 60 years have passed since he was born. I am also dancing with artistic license here, and claiming that those 23 years he was locked up "Didn't Really Happen," because he didn't experience anything or do any personal growth or what have you. So mentally, Vincent is – does the math – about 37ish. I hope no one hates me for this. :)_

_Anyway, I've done a lot of research and stuff for this fic, within the FF7 realm, and I've read a lot of theories regarding Yuffie, Vincent, and the rest of AVALANCHE, so I'm hoping to keep this as true to the FF7 world as possible. I hope everyone enjoys it._

_Read? Review!_


	3. How You Remind Me

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Three – How You Remind Me**_

_Never made it as a wise man  
I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing  
I'm tired of living like a blind man  
I'm sick inside without a sense of feeling  
And this is how you remind me..._

_This is how you remind me of what I really am  
This is how you remind me of what I really am...!_

-- Nickelback, _How You Remind Me_

When Vincent awoke the next morning, it was, once again, in a cave. He had, once again, expected this.

What was unusual is that there was someone else there.

He shook his head and looked at the unfamiliar lump on the ground, wondering if he was seeing things. Sometimes that happened, especially if the Galian Beast had been unable to feast the night before.

A brief spurt of hope was shot down quickly when the lump on the ground stirred, and then moaned in a suspiciously familiar manner.

Vincent retreated to the back of the cave, almost like a scared animal, and closed his eyes, questing. The Galian Beast would not tell him why he had brought someone here tonight, and Vincent could not remember it. He must have fallen asleep at the end. He glanced down and noticed that he'd left his glove and trusty gauntlet at the last cave. He vaguely mourned their loss.

But one thing he knew – the Galian Beast had not killed last night. He wondered why, and then forced his mind away from those thoughts as the figure stood up.

"What the fuck?" Yuffie said, loudly, before turning and scanning the cave. She found Vincent, cowering in the very back corner. Cowering and Vincent weren't two things that went together in her mind and she blinked at the strange sight before walking toward him. "What the hell, Vincent? Where are we?"

"...I don't know." He said, lowly.

"And why am I here?" She demanded.

"...I don't know." He repeated.

She sighed, and then continued looking around the cave; anything to draw her eyes away from the sight of Vincent Valentine, one of the most dignified people she had known in her life, cowering away from her, like a scared mouse.

It almost rendered her to tears, and only the sternest of self control made her continue with dry eyes. And then she saw a bundle where she'd been and tears really did spring to her eyes.

"Oh, fucking _yes_!" She shouted, running toward her emergency kit and her half-packed road bag. She'd put clothes and food and toiletries in there and she was _so_ fucking excited to have it.

She opened her road bag and started pulling things out. Oh, yes. Sweet. She'd already packed her big, comfortable tent, so she wouldn't have to rely on her pup tent. And a blanket. In fact, the only things she hadn't packed were more ammo and her knife set. Those took up a considerable amount of space in the pack, so she was pretty much set. Assuming she didn't have to go after anyone. She was pretty sure that Vincent would come quietly if only she could make him see...

She turned back to him, her eyes alight in a smile that almost made him feel sane again. "I have almost all of my stuff with me!" She started digging around in the pack again. "Oh, look, Vinnie, I even have soap and stuff. You can take a bath, if there's water near here. You stink."

Vincent blinked. He'd forgotten about her nickname for him; hadn't heard it in so long that it felt weird being called it, especially from the beautiful woman in front of him, instead of a seventeen-year-old girl.

"No towels, though, so you'll have to use my blanket._ I'm_ reasonably clean, I just took a shower yesterday." She wrinkled her nose. "Although I _do_ have Galian slobber all over me. What the fuck is that all about, anyway?" She turned back to him, and saw Vincent staring at her as if she'd just started stripping and singing showtunes. As if he'd never seen her before.

"What?" She dug into the bottom of the pack and extracted two water bottles. "They're warm, but here, thirsty?" She stood up and walked over to Vincent, holding out a water bottle. He mutely accepted it.

Yuffie walked back toward the entrance of the cave, sipping off her water bottle and then lighting a cigarette. She took in the view around her. "I don't think we're too far from Healin. I'll check my communique in a few. I'm starving. What about you?" She turned back to Vincent, who looked away from her as if he thought his very look would sully her.

He sensed her moving and she squatted in front of him. He glanced away.

"Vince, what's wrong?" She seemed concerned – almost motherly, which, coming from Yuffie, seemed kind of odd to him. Then again, she'd grown a lot since he'd last seen her.

He frowned. There was a bit of movement and then Yuffie was there, sitting next to him, sipping her water bottle. "If you don't wanna talk about it, I understand. But I'm still making you breakfast."

Vincent snorted.

"Oh. Do I detect...maybe...just _possibly_...a _hint _of laughter?" Yuffie said, smirking and nudging him in the shoulder.

"Yuffie, I don't think you should be here." There was an edge of panic in Vincent's voice. "I don't...I can't control..."

Yuffie shrugged. "I know. The Galian Beast. I get it. But really, Vinnie, he's had the chance to kill me twice and hasn't done it. I think I'm okay. And besides, you really need a friend right now. If I get horribly mauled and die, I'll kick your ass in the afterlife, if it makes you feel any better." She shook her head. "I can't bring myself to be afraid of you, Vincent." She took a drag off her cigarette.

"When did you start that?" Vincent said, staring at the cigarette. It reminded him of Cid and he found himself wondering how the pilot was faring.

"Dunno. Sometime after I became a bounty hunter. It's a hard job." She smirked. "Godo was pissed, but whatever. I'm not his heir anymore so he doesn't have any control over me."

Vincent shot her a look, but she didn't seem disturbed by this knowledge. Obviously, she'd had time to get over it.

They sat there for a while, silent, and then Yuffie stood and went back to her pack. She returned with shampoo, conditioner, razor, soap, washcloth, mirror, and hairbrush, all piled onto her blanket. "Go take a bath, Vincent. you really do reek, and I'm saying that as a friend." She wrinkled her nose and prompted a chuckle from Vincent, who had, momentarily, forgotten his predicament.

He'd never really thought about it, but Yuffie tended to have that effect on him. She wasn't necessarily always cheerful, but she exuded cheer even when she wasn't happy. She was...what had Aeris called it? Insta-cheer.

Obediently, he took the proffered bathing implements. Yuffie made to follow him and he gave her a Look.

"Oh, calm down, Vince. I'm just gonna wash your clothes. THEY reek too." She clucked at him, almost motheringly.

He protested but, as always, Yuffie won. She turned while he, embarrassed, stripped out of his clothes (they really did reek) and wrapped himself in the blanket. He left the clothes in a pile and stepped into the cold river.

He heard Yuffie behind him and wondered why he always gave in to her. Oh. Right. Because she'd pester him to death otherwise.

He obediently cleaned every inch of himself and washed his hair, tugging the tangles out while there was still conditioner in. Leaving the conditioner in – for his hair needed the conditioning – he took razor and mirror, and shaved the stubble adorning his face. That was why Vincent had never grown a beard – his facial hair never grew more than a stubble. In his adolescence, teenagers were fond of growing mustaches. Vincent had tried as a teenager, and failed miserably. Even these past few months, when he rarely shaved more than once a month or so, he never grew anything resembling a beard.

When he was done, he glanced in the mirror and found that he looked almost normal. He frowned and set the mirror back down on the bank, then completely rinsed off before attempting, futilely, to dry off with Yuffie's blanket. He did manage to stop his hair from dripping too badly, but he succumbed to the concept of being damp while he brushed his hair out on the way back to the cave, blanket tied about his waist.

Yuffie had obviously returned from the area of the river she was using to wash his clothes, because the damp articles were spread out on her flattened tent in front of the cave. He could smell cooking, and his mouth watered – he rarely got a decent meal anymore.

Yuffie was squatting in front of the fire, a pan in front of her heating what looked like eggs and hash browns. He had no idea how she'd pulled that off.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Powdered eggs and canned hashbrowns. It works. It's hot out today, your clothes should dry soon. I think I know where we were – that cave near Junon. Midgar's just over the mountains." She glanced down at the food. "It'll be ready soon."

Vincent took in the cave; she'd spread stuff all over the place in her haste to find what she needed. His boots sat against the wall, clean and shiny. Had she shined his boots?

"Why are you doing this?" His voice, breaking from disuse and emotion, blurted out.

Yuffie stopped and looked up at him, frowning. "I dunno, maybe cuz I'm your friend? Jeez, Vincent, you're a jerk sometimes." She rolled her eyes and removed the pan from the fire. Vincent carefully deposited the bathing stuff near her pack and then left the cave.

It was an odd experience, being taken care of. Vincent hadn't been babied or anything like that since he was a child, living with his mother and father. Sure, when AVALANCHE had been traveling, someone generally washed all of the laundry, and someone else usually cooked, and such, but Vincent generally did his own laundry and ate whatever happened to be available. It was an odd feeling, knowing that Yuffie had even shined his boots for him. None of his other friends had ever attempted something like that, probably thinking they'd get the better end of his gauntlet – which he felt naked without.

Then again, Yuffie was...Yuffie. She'd changed a lot, but she was still the same intrusive person she'd always been.

At least her crush on him had died away. He sat down, remembering a time when he couldn't get any peace on the Highwind whatsoever, and finally took to hiding in the maintenance closet to escape her. She claimed he was her good-luck charm because she never puked around him, and it had been painfully obvious that she had a schoolgirl crush on him – him, a man who had been fifty and easily matched her father in years. Everyone had smiled knowingly and left Vincent to find excuses to leave Yuffie standing in corridors – it had taken him months to stop glaring at everyone for the conspiracy against him.

A shadow fell over him, and he looked up. Yuffie was standing there, holding out a plastic camping plate and fork. "Eat up." She said, smiling. She turned back into the cave.

He looked at the food in front of him. It, despite being made from powdered and canned ingredients, smelled delicious. It tasted delicious too, and he wondered if it was the actual food, the fact that he hadn't eaten proper food much lately, or the fact that a friend had made it for him that made it taste so amazing.

After a while Yuffie came outside with more bottles of water and sat next to him, soaking in the sun while they waited for his clothes to try.

"You know, Vince..." She said, trailing off. "Rufus is really confident that they can get rid of them. The demons, that is."

Vincent's face hardened. Now he knew why she was hanging around.

"I mean, I don't...blame you, you know. And neither does Rufus. And I don't think anyone else will when you tell them you couldn't control..."

"No."

Yuffie stared at Vincent, who was obviously going through some kind of internal battle; his jaws worked against each other, and his shoulders had tensed.

"I'm just worried – I mean, I just – I want to help. I want to stop this." Yuffie said. She hunched over, falling in on herself. "I don't want another Shelke."

"I cannot face them, Yuffie." Vincent said. "I cannot. You cannot ask that of me. Please..."

He sounded terrified. Like a small child. Yuffie hated – absolutely _hated_ – hearing Vincent sound that way.

Yuffie turned away from him, hiding her tears. "You know...if they knew the truth, like I do, like Rufus does...they might be worried about you. Not everyone thinks you're a monster." She stood up and walked toward the river.

Vincent had never been, even as a child, the sort of person who wore his emotions on his sleeve. He rarely cried as a child, even when he stubbed a toe or scraped his knees. But Yuffie's accusatory tone was enough to bring tears to the gunslinger's eyes, and unfamiliar though the sensation was to him, he didn't bother wiping the tears from his eyes.

He was a monster, after all.

**- - - - - **

To his surprise, Yuffie stuck around all day. Near sunset, he began to get antsy.

"I think you should leave now, Yuffie." He said, his voice interrupting the enforced silence they'd been in since that morning. "It is near dark."

"I'm not going anywhere, Vincent." Yuffie said, harshly. She'd been crying on and off throughout the day and it disturbed him greatly.

"Yuffie..." He was greatly concerned for her welfare at this point; she might very well be the last friend he had left on the planet and he didn't wish for her to wind up dead.

"Can it, Vincent." She'd begun, by firelight, to set out the blanket, now dry, on top of the flattened tent, also dry. She hadn't had time to pack her bedroll, so this would have to do.

Her voice was sharp.

Vincent wondered if she had lost her mind. Clearly, she wasn't thinking properly.

"Yuffie." He said it slowly, as if he was talking to a stupid person. "If you are here when I transform into the Galian Beast, he will kill you. I do not wish for you to die, so I am asking you to leave."

"Shut up, Vincent." Yuffie turned to him. "Look, I'm aware of the consequences. Okay? I'm not afraid. And hey, maybe if he attacks me, you'll wise the fuck up and go talk to Rufus about getting rid of the things. But I'm not leaving until you agree to go."

Vincent rumbled menacingly.

"Bite me." She said. Then she banked the fire for the night and lay down on her makeshift bed. "Good night, Vincent."

_For you, perhaps._ He sat and watched the rapidly lowering sun, waiting anxiously for the stirrings within him that usually signaled Galian's return.

They never came. He could hear Yuffie tossing and turning in her sleep, and her occasional moments where she was crying, and he could finally hear her voice steady into sleep. He waited until it was full dark before he closed his eyes and sought out the beast. He could not find him.

He waited another hour before deciding it was safe to go to bed. Curling into a ball in his corner, he closed his eyes. It was cold, but he was him, and that overrode the chill.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie was awoken during the night by the urgent need to urinate. Blinking in the uncertain darkness, she sat up and walked outside, keeping her eyes out for the Galian Beast. She did her business a ways off from the cave and stumbled back, half-asleep but still fairly alert.

She walked back in and, her eyes adjusted to the darkness, noticed a lump at the back of the cave. She started and, her heart in her throat, approached it warily.

It was Vincent, curled into a ball. Obviously he had not transformed and gone off to perform mass-murders, and was instead sleeping in the corner, as far away from her as possible.

Her face softened and she watched him for a few minutes. It was cold and she knew he was freezing, but she wasn't about to curl up next to him. Ten years ago, she'd have jumped at the chance, but knowing he had the tendency to transform into an assholic monster definitely put a damper on the idea.

She turned and looked about the cave; her emergency pack caught her eyes, and with a small cry of victory she leaped at it, digging until she unearthed her pup tent. It was just a canvas sheet, really, but it was reasonably thick and it would do as a blanket. Carefully, so as not to disturb Vincent from his much-needed sleep, she tucked it around him and smiled at her handiwork.

Vincent snored lightly in his sleep, and his face was lax, free of all the normal tenseness he normally carried around. It was almost cute.

She stood and went back outside and changed into her sleepwear, which was infinitely more comfortable to sleep in than her tight work gear. She always woke up sore when she slept in that stuff.

Yuffie smiled impishly and returned to her bed, ready for sleep. It came easily this time around.

**- - - - - **

Vincent woke up the next morning rested, for the first time in months, and was even warm, which startled him until he opened his eyes and saw that at some point during the night, Yuffie had wrapped a canvas cloth around him.

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a tarp or a tent of some sort. But it had kept him warm and he very much appreciated it.

He wondered what was so special about last night that he hadn't transformed. The only difference was that he was clean (that had never made a difference) and that Yuffie was there with him.

He highly doubted that the beast within would have decided not to come out because of a mere slip of a girl (okay, okay, she was most definitely a woman – even _he_ had noticed her larger bust line and softer figure. He was a man, after all) and so he had to mark it down to chance.

It was another chance he didn't think he could take. But he was warm and comfortable and the idea of standing up to leave Yuffie and the cave behind just wasn't doing it for him that morning.

He stretched out slightly and yawned, and then sat up. Yuffie, it seemed, was already awake. In fact, she was sitting up in her bed, drinking something out of a camping mug and smoking a cigarette, while looking in his direction.

"Morning, sleepy." She said, smiling. "Actually, it's almost noon, but I figured you probably needed the sleep, seeing as you haven't gotten a proper night in since he started showing up."

A small smile – a huge admission from Vincent – lit his face, and Yuffie started to giggle.

"Your hair is all squished on one side and poofy on the other. You probably should have put your headband in before you went to bed." She stood up – at some point she had changed clothes, and was wearing a loose pair of exercise shorts (emphasis on short – Yuffie never wore long shorts or pants) and a loose tank top that still showed way too much skin for Vincent's comfort. Walking to the fire, she took another mug and poured something into it.

"Coffee." She said, holding her hand out. "It's instant, but it'll do for now."

Vincent thanked her politely and decided to forgive her for laughing at his bed head. He hadn't had coffee, instant or otherwise, in months. It tasted like heaven.

Yuffie sat back down for a few minutes, and they drank in silence. Then she spoke.

"Look, Vinnie, I know you're all dead-set on not going back to civilization, but I have to get some supplies." At his look of panic she shook her head. "You don't have to go in with me, but I need to hit up Junon, at least for cigarettes and food. You do not want to be near me when I don't have my cigarettes, trust me." She grinned. "And don't bother trying to run off, there is a homing device somewhere on you. I put it on before I went back to Kalm. You'll never find it."

He eyed her through narrowed lids, and decided that he had not forgiven her. The girl was really too dead set on this; if she had any brains whatsoever, she'd leave.

He sighed. "When are we leaving for Junon?"

She beamed at him. "As soon as I can pack everything up."

**- - - - - **

The terrain to Junon had been broken up ten years ago and it hadn't much recovered in that time, but Yuffie had no problem bounding across the rivers that divided up the land, and Vincent figured he had to follow her because otherwise she'd come back and pester him.

Well, pester wasn't the right word. Pester was something 16 year old Yuffie would do. 26 year old Yuffie simply crossed her arms and gave him a Look.

He shuddered. That Look was a despicable weapon and he felt sorry for any man who willingly attached themselves to a woman who could use it effectively. Specifically Yuffie, who already made him feel indebted to her simply by existing and having cooked him breakfast the past two mornings. And who had a supply of coffee.

Yuffie, who wasn't afraid to go into town and would come back with – more coffee.

Oh, yeah, he'd follow her.

At the edge of Junon there was a forest. Yuffie set her things down, taking with her only her essentials and money, and looked at him. "No running off. I can tell where you are." She tapped her communique.

As Yuffie was sashaying away (he didn't think she did it on purpose, but her rear end swayed pleasantly in those short shorts she liked to wear – he cocked his head to look before blinking and turning away) he found himself wondering what he'd do with himself, and how bored he'd be without her. Was one day really making him that dependent on her?

He frowned.

And sat against a tree, guarding Yuffie's possessions while he waited for her to get back.

Yuffie, for her part, was having a blast. Shopping was one of the things she did best, and being a princess and a very good bounty hunter, she always had a ton of gil to spend.

She bought bedrolls for each of them, more food, a carton of cigarettes, and some basic survival gear – she knew that if she was going to be hanging around Vincent for any length of time – Vincent Valentine, He Who Refused To Go Near Civilization – she'd need it. She also got some good collapseable cookware and another pack. Vinnie was going to carry his fair share, damnit!

Her second to last stop was the weapons shop. She got more ammunition and a spare clip for her handgun, and more ammunition for the rifle, which she figured she'd let Vincent use, seeing as he now had no weapons. She wondered vaguely where Death Penalty had been left.

Her very last stop was lunch. She got some takeout at a Wutain place, including egg drop soup and some good jasmine tea in a weird Styrofoam thermos, and then set off, hauling her purchases in the new pack and the food at her side.

To her surprise, Vincent was waiting somewhat patiently for her to return. She'd half expected him to run off while she was gone, and then she'd have to drag ALL of the gear and track his ass down.

He stood, plainly ready to go, and she set the gear down and looked at him. He sighed.

"We aren't leaving?" He asked. He was clearly nervous to be near a large town.

"In a while. I got us lunch." She held up the bag. "Wutain. You get to pick between teriyaki chicken or lemon chicken. I also got some sushi, fried rice, chow mein, and egg drop soup. And jasmine tea." She smiled.

To her surprise, Vincent smiled back.

**- - - - - **

Vincent absolutely refused to go into settlements, but he had no problem with traveling. He just worried. But every night was the same as the previous – he did not transform around Yuffie, it would seem.

He clung to her when he realized that. Not physically, but generally making himself a nuisance when she wanted to use the bathroom or change clothes or bathe.

After a week of this, she finally snapped and asked if he could please back the fuck off for a few minutes.

"I mean, what gives? First, you don't want me here, then if I leave your sight for five seconds you fucking lose it. What the hell?"

Vincent ducked his head. He spoke so quietly that she had to strain to hear him.

"It seems...that when you are around...the Galian Beast does not come out." He muttered. He did not look up into her eyes; in fact, he turned around and walked away. She stared after him, stunned, but let him go.

The days were getting cooler now; they'd been together three weeks and it felt like years. But soon they would have to seek shelter, in an inhabited place, because winters on this continent were bone-chilling without the aid of electric heating. She was working up to getting him to come to Kalm with her, or even just Healin where it was no one but Rufus and a bunch of scientists. Well, and the Turks. But they didn't matter.

But she feared that he was going to force her to stay out here freezing her everliving ass off. As it was she had turned her phone off shortly after leaving Junon that day, and had kept it and the communique off to conserve battery power. She figured Rufus was probably going batshit insane at this point – he always did if she didn't check in every couple of days.

Honestly, she was NOT going to stay here freezing her ass off. Friendship had its limits. Vincent could come with her, or he could suffer.

She bit her lip. That was a horrible thing to think. But seriously. She'd grown up in sunny, warm Wutai. What made him think that it was even possible for her to survive a winter outdoors?

And why was she thinking about this? They hadn't even had this argument yet. She sighed and waited a while, packing up camp, before she went looking for him. She found him, by a little pond. The impending winter made itself perfectly plain by ringing the pond with ice, which Vincent was boredly chipping away with his fingers and a pebble.

"Vince?" She said, coming about to stand behind him. With a sigh she flopped onto the ground next to him and stared at the pond.

"I am sorry, Yuffie." Vincent said, concentrating very hard on chipping ice flakes. "I did not mean to burden you, but you asked for the truth."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Vince, you being around doesn't bother me, and me being around because then you don't turn into a psychopathic demon that starts killing people doesn't bother me, either. I just need to be able to sneak off and pee occasionally, and I can't do that with you hovering within two feet of me at all times. Okay?"

He nodded, slowly.

"However...I'm sure you've noticed that it's starting to get cold." She said. "It's nearly October. I don't know about you, but I can't be outdoors in this kind of weather. It gets _cold_ here, Vinnie."

He sighed.

"Look. I have a futon at my apartment in Kalm. You can stay with me and enjoy all of the amenities of civilized living, without ever having to interact with people because I never have people over at my house. I'll only leave during the day and I'll stop bounty hunting. I just...I can't do this during the winter. I don't mind camping out when it's warm but I'll freeze to death otherwise. Look at me. I'm all skin and bones!"

Vincent snorted. "Not anymore. But the point is taken." He stared off across the pond, the ice having been entirely chipped away. "I...am not sure what will happen if I get around a large group of people, Yuffie."

Yuffie nodded. "I understand. I can shoot you with a tranquilizer if you start to flip out, if you want." She smiled. "I have a lot of them, they're good for Alive Only hits."

Vincent pondered this idea for a long while. "I'm not sure what effect that would have on him. But if I were unconscious, he might not be able to take control of my body."

"Then you'll try it?"

Vincent didn't answer right away. He picked up the pebble and let it slide through his hands, like a worry rock.

"Vinnie?" Yuffie said, in her best cutesy voice.

He sighed. "I will try. But I cannot guarantee success, Yuffie, and if he acts up...I will leave."

Yuffie bit her lip and then nodded. "It's a deal." They shook on it.

That was all it took – a brush of skin on skin – and Vincent suddenly stood up and left.

Yuffie looked after him, wondering what was wrong. If only she knew.

_Author's Notes: I literally have no idea where this story is going. I have no control over the creative process whatsoever, and I mean that. Shit just happens._

_Although I'm hoping there will be some lemon in the next chapter, even if it's just wanking, because damnit, I'm getting sexually frustrated over what I'm putting off to write this. Haha._

_And I am aware that when I had her order Wutain food I intermixed Chinese, Japanese, and possibly some Korean cuisine. ARTISTIC LICENSE: Wutai is a catch-all of Asian food, because it is all so very, very yummy._

_**Post beta-read note:**__ Maybe no lemon. I just wrote one of the many things I'm putting off on this story; a Vincent/Rosso oneshot that is oh so hot and funny. If you're into that sort of thing, go check it out. :)_

_Read? Review!_


	4. Is It So Wrong To Be Afraid?

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Four – Is It So Wrong To Be Afraid?**_

_And if we're all just soldiers  
Is it so wrong to be afraid...?_

-- The Offspring, _Jennifer Lost The War_

"Okay." Yuffie said, looking over Kalm from her vantage point a mile out of town. "Here's the deal. We'll wait until nightfall and see what happens."

Vincent nodded tersely. He didn't like this plan, and no matter how many times Yuffie went over it with him, he wasn't going to start liking it.

"Then if you don't transform, we go in and sneak you in to my place. I'll have my trank darts loaded up and ready to go, just in case." She smiled. "Don't worry, Vince, it'll be fine."

Vincent entertained his doubts, but he tried very hard to trust Yuffie. She wasn't a stupid child anymore. Hopefully she'd be able to fend for herself if he transformed – he couldn't live with himself if the Galian Beast killed her.

They ate dinner, and then waited. It was slow going, as if the sun knew they were waiting for it's departure, and like a bad dinner guest wouldn't get the hell out of there.

Finally, night fell, and...nothing happened.

"See, I told you!" Yuffie said, grinning as she slung her pack over her shoulder. "Let's go, Vince, it's freezing out here."

"You have your gun?" He asked, seriously.

She rolled her eyes and patted her holster. "Loaded and ready to go." She tapped her foot impatiently while Vincent picked up his pack, and he knew she'd missed civilization. He felt insanely guilty for keeping her from it.

Every step he took toward Kalm, he expected the Galian Beast to burst forth. It never occurred, though, and they reached Yuffie's apartment in the middle of town relatively safely. Relatively. Yuffie did sprain her ankle tripping over a rock that she swore jumped out in front of her, but other than that – everything was fine.

So instead of making a quiet entrance into the town, walking together normally, it was a slightly less quiet entrance of Vincent carrying Yuffie and two road packs. Every time she tried to limp she went dangerously slow and Vincent really did feel better about carrying her, but she was embarrassed to be helped in anything and loudly insisted that he put her down every five minutes or so, in between giving directions to her house.

They finally reached it and she opened the door with her palm print. The lock snapped open and they stepped inside.

Vincent was surprised at the neat, orderly manner in which Yuffie had furnished her apartment. He clearly remembered her house in Wutai, which was always messy and disorganized, with materia and throwing stars littering the area. One time Tifa had actually stepped on one of the stars, making Vincent swear to continue wearing metal-plated boots for the rest of his life, regardless of how much Yuffie whined that they were a "fashion faux-pas."

"Set me down, Vincent!" Yuffie commanded. He noticed that when she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes like that, her lower lip stuck out and the whole look became a pout.

The apartment itself was just a studio; Yuffie had no use for another room when she usually just crashed there a few nights and kept her stuff there. There was a queen sized bed against one wall of the living room, and a futon couch against the other. A small nightstand served both beds.

There was a nice television set on a stand, next to a small computer desk, on the wall opposite the beds. A door led to what Vincent believed was probably a closet; the door next to it was obviously a bathroom, evidenced by the excellent view he had of a toilet. A small kitchenette completed the apartment. There were clean ashtrays on every available flat surface, even, he saw, on the bathroom counter and near the kitchen sink.

He set her on her bed lightly before setting the packs on the futon. He glanced at the wall; the only poster in the entire place, that he could see, was a large photograph of AVALANCHE and crew, shortly after the Deepground incident. Shelke was in attendance, as well as Marlene and Denzel, and Shera and Barret's new wife. Well, not so new, as he'd married her shortly before the whole thing blew up. For the life of him, Vincent couldn't remember the woman's name, but she'd been nice enough.

If one looked hard, they could see Vincent, hiding out in the back. He'd never been fond of the group photos Tifa and Yuffie insisted on taking occasionally, and generally did his best to look dour so as to encourage a fast photo shoot.

He did find it kind of humorous, though. The whole of the Deepground fiasco had revolved around him and the experiments done upon him, and he'd done a great deal of fighting to bring it to an end. And yet, there he was, hiding in the back while everyone else smiled for the camera.

He wasn't even looking in the direction of the camera; he was turned so that it was mostly his profile visible, with his cloak covering the lower portion of his face and his hair draping down. All you really saw was his nose and one eye.

He promised himself that if he ever redeemed himself, he'd participate in a group photo willingly.

"Hey, Vince, help me out here." Yuffie said. She was, one-legged, trying to open up the futon bed for Vincent. He stepped in front of the futon and opened it in it's entirety, saving Yuffie the effort.

She smiled. "See? A kinda real bed."

Vincent forbore mentioning that he'd slept in a coffin for 23 years, and that the hard ground was actually quite comfortable in comparison. She was so pleased with herself, owning a futon he could sleep on. It would have been mean to spoil it.

"Then again, you did sleep in a coffin for a long time. I bet the ground's pretty comfortable when you think about it, huh?" Yuffie was still smiling. It was downright eerie how she could do that.

She heaved herself up from the bed, which was at this point only about six inches away from the edge of the futon, and hobbled to the kitchen. "Want a snack or anything?" She said. "I think I still have some heat and eat stuff."

"No, thank you." Vincent said, following her in case she needed support if her ankle gave out.

"Well, I'm starving. Let's see what we have." She opened her cabinets and perused them. "Hm. I better go shopping tomorrow, if this ankle's stopped bugging me."

"I will make you something to eat, if you are hungry, Yuffie. You should go soak your ankle." Vincent informed her. "It will make it feel better."

Yuffie stopped and turned to him, and smiled. Her whole face lit up when she smiled, Vincent noticed; any other time, you couldn't tell what Yuffie was thinking, but when she was truly happy, she wore her emotions on her sleeve.

"Really? You'd do that?" She smiled. "Thanks, Vinnie!" She hobbled to her closet; Vincent noticed, when she slid it open, that it contained a tiny, tiny dresser and about four hanging garments, and that the rest seemed to be bounty hunting supplies. A half-full hamper off to the side contained what seemed to be her only dirty clothes.

She closed the bathroom door behind her after grabbing a towel and a few other things from the closet, and Vincent could hear her humming to herself, and then the sound of water being turned on. He smiled before inspecting her cupboards for comestibles.

Yuffie was quite correct, she did need to go shopping. There was very little in the way of edible foodstuffs. He opened the door next to the refrigerator and found that it led into a little garage. A motorcycle and Yuffie's chocobo stood there; the animal, standing next to a full trough of food, warked in alarm.

However, there was a freezer there. Vincent edged away from the chocobo (who didn't seem to like him – he couldn't blame it after their prior experience together) and headed for the freezer.

It was mostly full of cigarettes, but he found some frozen meals and some hamburger. He grabbed the hamburger and headed back inside, warily eying the chocobo as he closed the door behind him.

He searched some more and finally found some canned foods and a dusty pack of spaghetti noodles.

Reaching far back into his memory, he recalled a recipe (learned at his father's knee, no doubt) for a meat spaghetti sauce. He was missing some basic ingredients but they wouldn't make that much of a difference. Luckily, Yuffie kept a full spice cabinet, something common of people from Wutai, so he was able to make it to the best of his ability while the noodles boiled.

He was straining the noodles in a metal colander he'd found under the sink when he heard Yuffie get out of her bath and swear, obviously having forgotten that her ankle was out of commission.

While she dried off around her sprain, Vincent searched and found some plates and forks, which he dished up some spaghetti and sauce onto, and found, at the very back of the refrigerator, three cans of Coke. He took two out.

So it just happened that when Yuffie walked out of the bathroom, wrapped in an overlarge bath sheet, with her hair up in a towel turban, Vincent had a plate of food and a soda ready and waiting for her.

She exclaimed in surprise. "Vinnie!" She smiled. "I thought you meant, heat up one of my TV dinners, not make _spaghetti_!" She sniffed it and her eyes rolled back into her head. "It smells awesome, though." She limped over to her bed, near the nightstand, and Vincent handed her the plate and soda.

After a brief clean-up of the kitchen (Vincent was anything if not methodical), he joined her, sitting on the futon, both of their sodas sitting on the night table, while Yuffie ate and boredly flipped through cable channels. A short time later, Vincent had to collect the dirty dishes (Yuffie did try to do it herself but wound up collapsing back into the bed in pain) and then Yuffie had a cigarette, at which point Vincent decided that he was going to retire for the night.

He rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. Before he fell asleep he heard Yuffie talking to him.

"See, Vincent? It's not so bad, civilization."

**- - - - - **

Yuffie always chose east-facing dwellings. She always had. The sun was a natural alarm clock.

Vincent had always chosen west-facing dwellings when he had a choice in the matter, because he was Not A Morning Person.

He could hear Yuffie stand and go about her normal morning routine; obviously, her ankle was better. He was having none of it – it was his first night of sleep in something somewhat comfortable in months, and he was going to enjoy it. He grunted and pulled a bit of his cloak over his face.

He could hear her giggle at him, but he didn't bother paying attention. Sleep was reclaiming him.

Actually, Yuffie was really glad he was still asleep. She could go run errands without having to worry about people freaking out over the MOST WANTED BADDIE ON THE PLANET.

At that point Yuffie realized two things. One, Rufus was probably going batshit insane not knowing where she was this past month.

And she hadn't turned her phone or communique on in nearly a month as well.

Shit.

She dashed to her pack and withdrew the devices, moaning at the fact that she almost certainly had over a hundred voice mails.

Close, but no cigar: 97.

Well, she wasn't going to listen to them all, because the list on her screen said they were all from Rufus. She marked them all read and hurriedly got dressed, ignoring her hair for now as she didn't have the time to put it up.

She left a quick note for Vincent, saying she'd gone to go run errands. Then, because she didn't want to be a liar, she jotted down her list from before she'd gone to Vincent's rescue ("water, flashlights, batteries, suchers, rub. alc., gauze, med. tape, materia."), then added a few things to it she'd thought of in the meantime, and shoved it in her pocket.

She quietly closed and locked the door behind her, hoping she hadn't disturbed him, and then dashed off towards Rufus' office.

He was going to kill her.

**- - - - - **

Mostly he was just relieved she'd shown up. He, Reeve, and Cid were all having a pow-wow when she showed up.

"Oh thank God!" Rufus said, letting out a huge sigh of relief before standing up to meet her at the doorway of his office. "Did you get my voice mails?"

She laughed. "There was no way I was listening to 97 voice mails, Rufus." She came into the room and sat amongst the men, knowing she'd be welcome.

"We were halfway to declaring you dead, you know." Reeve said. He was obviously relieved and a little emotional that she'd shown up alright. "You should have called in with us."

Yuffie shrugged. "I forgot."

"It's pretty bad when you randomly disappear, half of your things that you always take with you scattered around your apartment, and Akai unfed in the garage, Yuffie." Rufus said, frowning.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. I made sure he had food every day." Rufus said, sitting back down behind his desk. "What happened? Why did you leave so fast, and with a good bunch of your gear unpacked?"

Yuffie squirmed in her seat and then asked Rufus directly. "How much do Cid and Reeve know about what I was doing, Rufus?"

Rufus eyed her and then sighed. "I briefed them thoroughly when I couldn't get ahold of you after a week. At first I was okay because we could see the tracking device in Vincent's cloak, and he wasn't going near anywhere populated. But after a few days of that the battery in it died, or he somehow managed to break it, or something, because it wasn't registering. And then I started to get worried."

Yuffie nodded. "Vincent isn't transforming into the Galian Beast on his own, and he isn't tormenting these towns. Something's causing it. For...some ungodly reason, I..." She was embarrassed, and coughed. "Anyway, he doesn't come out when I'm around. You have no idea what I had to pull to get Vincent here..."

"Vincent is HERE?" Rufus said, shooting out of his chair, looking at the doorway as if he expected the former Turk to storm in at any minute.

Yuffie shook her head. "I left him asleep on my futon because, well, I had ninety seven voice mails, all from you, and I figured I'd better come assuage your fears before I went shopping." She sighed. "He's terrified, Rufus. He knows what happened to Shelke and what the Galian Beast has been doing, and it's got him absolutely horrified. He refuses to face anyone."

"They all know that he's the cause of that." Cid said. "But I told 'em what you'd said, about how you didn't think Vincent was in control, and they're all...fairly accepting. But I think Tifa might need proof. She's out for blood."

That startled Yuffie; Tifa was generally the most forgiving of their group. Then again, she did kind of consider Shelke a younger sister, and her loss had devastated her.

"I don't know what kind of proof I can give her, Cid." Yuffie said. "Short of locking Vincent in an enforced cell and taking off at nightfall so everyone can watch what happens, and really – that's too cruel."

"Actually." Reeve broke in. "If Vincent wants to be cured of his affliction, we may have to do that, just once, to get some finalized data on the transformations. It may give us a bit of insight into why he's been acting up so much lately."

"My bet is that whatever was causing that is causing the monster attacks." Rufus said. "They're getting more and more bold, in Healin the other day, one walked right into down, in broad daylight, and tried to snatch one of my top scientists. Luckily, she's not stupid, and carries a weapon on her at all times."

Yuffie stopped. "Hey, guys?"

All three of the men looked at her.

"This is just a little suspicion. Just a little one." She said, holding her forefinger and thumb apart slightly. "But I think we ought to give Red a call."

"Red? Why?" Cid looked vaguely confused, and cocked his head to the side, which reminded Yuffie enough of Cloud that she had to force down a spate of laughter.

"Um. Well." Yuffie swallowed. "Look, I just remember a story from, you know...a long time ago. They used to tell it in Wutai, it was a really old legend, about a planetary alignment or something that caused the monsters to go haywire. I only remember it because the hero of the story was who I was named after."

Rufus screwed up his forehead in thought, and then his eyes lit up with understanding. "The Legend of Yu Fi and the Red Dragon?" He asked. She nodded.

"That'd be the one. But I don't even remember exactly how the story went. Do you?" She appealed to him with her eyes.

He shrugged ruefully. "Not really. When I was at the boarding school in Wutai, before I got sent to Junon, that was part of the curriculum we were set, was Wutain legends. This was right before the war and my father sent me there to basically learn all about the Wutain lifestyle. Not like much of what I had to tell him made any difference." He rolled his eyes. "But I remember that legend because everyone had said that Godo Kisaragi had committed blasphemy for naming his daughter after the woman who saved the world."

Yuffie smirked. "Well, it turns out he had a little bit of a feeling I'd be needing a brave name. I think it turned out alright, don't you?" She sighed. "Look, guys, I need to do some shopping, and I also need to get back to the apartment before Vincent wakes up and flips out. Rufus, can you please call off the manhunt so that I can take him out during daylight if need be?"

Rufus nodded. "I'll figure something out, Yuffie. What I'm going to tell the public about him is beyond me."

"Tell him you wanted him for questioning, and he has been found and questioned." She said, shrugging. "I'll see what I can do about convincing him to come in and talk, so it'll at least be true. Maybe. If he agrees. He's all skittish now." She frowned. "Not at all like how he used to be. Can't really blame him, though."

All three men nodded agreement.

"I'll work that end, okay? You guys call Red, see what he thinks. Maybe Vincent will talk to him, they're at least close in age or something." She chortled and stood up. "But anyway, those are the three things I want answered. Why is Galian Beast acting up? Why do I keep him from doing it? And how can we stop it, and the monster attacks? I think if we can get at least two of those answers, we'll be in a pretty good boat. Yeah?"

Rufus smiled. "I'm sure we can. And it'll be easier to find the answers, now that Red's done that digital project of his. All of the old tomes have been transcribed and scanned, for easy searching."

"Oh, he finished that?" Yuffie's eyes widened. It had been a monumental task that Red had set himself, years and years ago, after Deepground had threatened those very tomes' existence.

"About two weeks ago." Reeve said. "We'll call him, Yuffie. He hasn't put all of the information on the 'Net because he says it could be dangerous in the wrong hands, so we still have to go through him to get it. We'll let you know."

"Thanks, guys. Keep me updated." She shot Rufus a mock salute and sashayed out the door, planning on buying the entire market to keep herself fed on the spaghetti sauce Vincent had made last night.

"I'm glad she's alright." Reeve said.

"Me too." Rufus said, absently twirling a pencil file in his hands. "She usually checks in so it was quite a fright."

"Oh man." Cid said, shaking his head and looking at Rufus. "You've got it bad, man."

"Beg pardon?" Rufus asked Cid.

"You. Have got it bad for Yuffie, man." Cid let out a low whistle. "I ain't never seen you panic like you did when you thought Vince mighta offed her."

Rufus gave him a look.

"In Cid's defense, it is pretty obvious to everyone who sees the two of you interact, although I do doubt Yuffie is aware of it." Reeve said, giving him apologetic look.

Rufus ground his teeth. "Great. So the whole world knows. Except Yuffie, who should know." He rolled his eyes and jammed the pencil file back into the cup he kept pencil files in. If he did it a little forcefully, no one mentioned anything.

"Anyway, guys, let's go get on the horn with Red." Cid said, tactfully changing subjects. "If we can get to the bottom of this, we can fix it, and that's what I aim to do."

**- - - - - **

Vincent woke up considerably later in the morning, but Yuffie was not back yet. He read her note and nodded to himself, and sat up. He noticed she had, again, covered him up with something and had even taken off his boots for him. Nice of her, although it always left him a little embarrassed when she did something like that for him.

He stood and plodded in stocking feet into the kitchen, where Yuffie had considerately left him a half a pot of coffee to drink. He did so, savoring the exotic taste of the stimulant. Yuffie knew her coffee.

Vincent didn't watch television that often, and wasn't interested in doing it now, so he really had no idea what to do until Yuffie returned. She had left no indication of when she'd be back, although presumably it would be before nightfall. Glancing around, he took in the slightly fuller, now that she had showered, laundry basket, and the few leftover dirty dishes in the kitchen from last night. He set his coffee cup down and started the sink filling with soapy water. Then he shucked his cloak, setting it on the bed, and rolled up his sleeves.

Once he'd finished the dishes and set them drying in the dish drainer, he picked up the basket and headed to her garage, where he'd glimpsed a washer/dryer unit the night before. Yuffie's chocobo warked in alarm to see this scarily familiar man again, and knowing how hard chocobos can peck, Vincent steered clear of him. Or her. He never had been able to tell the difference.

He set the small load to delicate and carefully avoided looking in on Yuffie's unmentionables. The unit would wash and dry the clothes on it's own in short time.

The chocobo clucked at him nervously as he passed. Glancing over, he saw a saddle with a bronzed plate reading "AKAI" on a shelf. He had to assume that Akai was the bird before him, and he felt bad for it. Chocobos did not like strangers.

Vincent glanced up at the clock as he walked in. Only thirty minutes had passed; it was now almost noon. He freshened his coffee and thought about what to do next. Leaving the house was out of the question. Glancing into the bathroom, he noticed that Yuffie had all of the toiletries he'd need to get clean, and decided that that was the next order of business. He doubted Yuffie would mind; in her letter she had urged him to "make himself at home."

He stepped into the bathroom and removed his clothing, setting it on the toilet. He'd have to change back into the dirty clothes when he was done, but that was a moot point. He would be clean, if his clothes weren't.

The idea of bathing in warm water appealed to him, and he set to the task, which would doubtless take a while because of his hair. He smiled, feeling the temperature of the water, and stepped in.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie bought enough stuff to redo her kits. She seriously considered getting a bigger place to store all of her bounty equipment; then she could make whole emergency packs up and never have to pack one on the run. It took time.

Plus, now Vincent was there. She had no idea if he was planning on staying, but if he wanted to he was welcome. She figured he'd probably need a bedroom of his own, or at least somewhere separate from her, to sleep; Vincent was an old-fashioned kind of guy. When roughing it or in an emergency, it was okay, but she distinctly recalled him insisting on separate bedrooms from "the ladies" when they had the chance to get actual rooms at inns. Even then she'd thought it was cute.

Then again, back then she'd thought everything was cute about Vincent. By the time Deepground had begun attacking she'd gotten well over her crush on him, but pretty much any female with a pulse would admit that he was easy on the eyes, and had some adorable mannerisms. It reminded her of her grandfather, who, before his passing, had always made a big show of opening doors for the women of Wutai, or holding out seats for them. Everyone had been charmed by Grampa.

She had never had a reason to own a car of her own; her chocobo did well for long distances, and in town she used the motorcycle that Cloud had given her (not nearly as cool as Fenrir, but a good bike nonetheless). But the pure amount of shopping she planned on doing called for it, and she stopped at a place and rented a car. All they had was a station wagon, but it worked.

Once she finished shopping at the materia store (they loved her, she always bought out their selection of low-level Restore and Fire materias), she headed to the local bulk market, where the majority of her purchases could be made. All of the stuff for her bounty hunting bags were unceremoniously piled onto a flat cart in cases; those were easy, they made sure to keep them in stock for her and the hospital.

Next, she let herself go buying more frozen dinners and cigarettes, frozen meats, canned and bottled drinks, canned goods, and dry goods. Best to stock up, since she didn't know when she'd be able to go shopping next.

Then she went bargain-hunting. As a Wutain, she'd learned haggling on her dad's knee, and had been sorely disappointed that the practice was uncommon and frowned upon here. The next best thing to it was bargain-hunting, and she loved doing it at bulk stores like this. She found coffee beans on sale in five pound sacks (she bought ten of them) of her favorite flavor, at half the normal price, and a selection of fresh veggies that she knew she could make something interesting with. As an afterthought she added a few more fresh vegetables and some breads to the flatcart, and stuff for sandwiches. She was unused to keeping a stocked larder because she so rarely actually lived in her place.

The big find, however, was the clothes. She found a good pair of tennis shoes in her size, good quality, and a pair in what she thought might be Vincent's size (his were black, thank goodness. The idea of Vincent wearing anything other than red or black would send him into a seizure). They were 75 off and she jumped for joy when she found them. She also, as was normal, got good prices on regular clothes here, so she bought him more clothes, so he wouldn't smell all of the time. His normal getup required a thorough dry-cleaning session.

She unflinchingly got him some shirts (one button-up like he normally wore and two black T-shirts), two pairs of slacks, and some socks. She hesitated, however, on underwear.

She had no clue what his preference was, or if he even wore them. And there was no way in hell she was going to ask him, so she stopped and thought, very hard, to when she'd washed his clothes.

Ah, yes. Boxer briefs. And she even knew his size.

She chuckled evilly as she looked at the display, seriously considering buying him the bright pink ones with adorable cavorting chocobos all over them. Instead she chose normal solid color ones, in a somber tone. But the temptation was great.

A few other things she found went onto the cart and then she got into line, spending well over 6,000 gil. No sweat. She was a princess.

The store very nicely sent out a young man to help her load the stuff into her rented car. She would have to keep a good chunk of this stuff in the garage – it looked like Akai was going to start rooming in Rufus' public stables again. Not like he hadn't done his time there before.

Her phone rang. Frowning, she reached for it. It was Rufus.

"Yo." She said, putting the car into reverse and backing out of her parking space.

"Hi. I just wanted to let you know that Red is searching the database, which is ridiculously huge. The search will take a few hours." Rufus said. She could hear typing and assumed he was working on the computer on something.

"Awesome, maybe we'll get some info on this." She smiled as she drove in the direction of her apartment.

"Yuffie, I think you should get a bigger place." Rufus said, seriously. "If Vincent is going to be staying with you, your tiny studio isn't going to cut it, and eventually one of you is going to kill the other, even without the Galian Beast involved."

Yuffie laughed. "I was thinking about that today. Even without Vinnie around, I think I need more space now. Got any ideas?"

"Actually, I do." Rufus said, seriously. "The lady down the street from me is selling her house. It'd be perfect in this scenario because she's got a lot of property, surrounded by trees, so Vincent could leave the house if he wanted to, without having to worry about people lynching him. We've issued a press release saying we wanted Vincent for questioning and that one of our bounty hunters has brought him in, but there's still a lot of negative sentiment. A lot of people remember, Yuffie, that he can change into...something else." Rufus' voice shook for a moment. "They're worried about their safety and the safety of their loved ones, and we don't want Vincent getting vigilante justice because of it."

She nodded, slowly. "Rufus, I may be a princess, but I hardly think I can afford a house in your neighborhood."

There was a silence. "You haven't looked at your bank account recently, have you?"

With a frown, she queued her communique to look at her account balance, and nearly passed out. "What in the hell?"

"Well, first of all, you're being credited with Vincent's capture, so that's a million gil on it's own. Plus, for every day you were actively working the case, and the time you were missing, you got hazard pay." He snorted. "You'll bankrupt me, kid. Hazard pay is equal to one half of the total bounty, _per day_. I never thought we'd actually have a million gil bounty that'd last as long as yours did."

"What about all of the other bounty hunters that took on the case?" She asked. She knew they'd been looking.

"They don't get the hazard pay or bounty unless they're credited with it. So at least the money went to someone who isn't a total asshole." She could hear the laughter in his voice. "Anyway, I think you'll be able to afford this one; the woman's loaded, basically wants an excuse to move to Costa del Sol before winter takes hold. She's arthritic and wants to spend the rest of her life in warmer weather. Her husband died last winter and he left her everything. She's only asking a half a million for the house."

Yuffie pondered this. "I will definitely think about this, Rufus. Let her know you have a friend who's interested?"

"Sure thing." Rufus said. They hung up.

Back in his office, Rufus smiled. All of the reasons he'd stated for Yuffie to move into a bigger place were true, of course, but really, he just couldn't stand the idea of Vincent sharing a bedroom with Yuffie, even if he was on the futon.

It was very childish of him, especially since he figured he'd never have Yuffie, and that Vincent wasn't a threat even if he did have a chance. But the idea bothered him.

He'd been trying to get her onto his permanent staff for years – on salary, because she couldn't bank on her inherited fortune forever. She kept refusing, insisting that she enjoyed bounty hunting and it kept her provided for. When he noticed how much money he was going to be paying her for bounty and hazard pay, it had brightened his day to the point that he'd agreed to send his personal assistant on a much-needed vacation.

He was very, very glad that his assistant wouldn't be leaving for two days, though, because between organizing a house sale for Yuffie (he knew she'd love the place, because it was generally fairly fanciful and very Yuffie-like) and all of this crap with Vincent and Red, the next few days were going to be...interesting.

**- - - - - **

When Yuffie entered her apartment through the garage entrance, she noticed two things.

One, her laundry basket was empty. For some reason it caught her eye first, and she blushed to think that Vincent had handled her undies. They weren't anything special but still.

Two, the dishes had been done, and were sitting in her dish rack.

Three, there were sounds of showering coming from the bathroom. She smirked. Yuffie had known, without a doubt, that Vincent hated the cold rivers they'd been washing in, despite the fact that he claimed to enjoy it well enough, and the steam spilling out from under the bathroom door was proof.

She unloaded the stuff she'd bought into the garage, putting the refrigerated and frozen stuff where they needed to go and piling all of the food in the kitchen. She shoved the cigarettes into the freezer.

Then she dug through pile of clothes she'd bought and brought out a pair of boxers, a pair of slacks, a T-shirt, and a pair of socks for Vincent, as well as the shoes. Quietly, she stripped off the tags and snuck into the bathroom, replacing his worn, filthy attire with new, clean clothes to change into when he was finished bathing.

She took her laundry out of the machine and dumped it on her bed, and checking the fabric, shoved his things in. She set the machine to heavy duty and then went to turn the station wagon in at the rental place.

It was only a block or two from her house, and when she got back Vincent still wasn't out of the shower. She figured that his hair probably took as long to care for as hers, which is to say, a long time.

She put her clean clothes away, and the dishes, and then began sorting through her purchases. Things for bounty hunting she left in the garage, in their cases, because she wasn't going to be using them for a while and if she DID buy the house, it'd be easier to move it that way. Everything else she brought in and set on her bed.

She put the food away, having to shove her fridge door quite forcefully to make it close. There was something satisfying about knowing one had a fully-stocked kitchen, even if it was a tiny one.

Then she turned to the pile of crap on her bed. She pulled out all of Vincent's clothes and set them, nicely folded, on the futon. She was just finishing putting the rest of it away when the water in the bathroom stopped.

She smiled. He'd made her supper last night, so she would make him lunch today. Nothing fancy, but sandwiches and soup would do, as it was starting to get chilly outside and the apartment was really no better because Vincent hadn't bothered to turn the heater on.

She put a soup pot on the stove and started preparing a packaged chicken noodle soup. Vincent swore in the bathroom; it sounded like hair-pulling swearing, if she could gauge swearing properly. She didn't think he'd have sworn over the new clothes.

The water for the soup had started to boil when she heard her hair dryer start. That amused her highly, that Vincent preferred to blow dry his hair. Then again, it made sense. Wet hair sucked.

She quickly made up a small assortment of finger sandwiches and finished the chicken noodle soup. It only sat for about three or four minutes when Vincent stepped out of the bathroom dressed in the clothes she'd bought him.

"Do they fit?" She asked, brightly. "I put your other stuff in the wash, it's horrid."

"They do. Thank you, Yuffie. How much did they cost?" He asked, politely.

"Don't worry about it. I'm freakin' rich. Haha." She chuckled. "I got a half a million gil a day while we were gone, in hazard pay. I'm totally set."

His eyes widened.

"Yeah, cuz you're such a dannnngerous person." She said, rolling her eyes. "Hey, you look, almost normal, without your regular clothes and the do-rag."

"What?"

"Do-rag. You know. Your hairband?" She raised her eyebrow. "Anyway, I made lunch. I put the futon up, so go ahead and sit down and I'll bring you some."

He noticed the other clothes on the futon and looked at them blankly for a few moments, but he didn't mention them.

She brought out a cold soda and a cup of soup for each of them, and the tray of sandwiches. "Dig in, I'm starving." She said, sitting on her bed and flipping the TV on with the remote.

The news was on, with the press conference Rufus had set up playing. She considered changing the channel but Vincent was already watching it and he'd know something was up if she switched now.

"Vincent Valentine has been wanted for some time for questioning, but recall that we have an innocent until proven guilty judicial system." Rufus was saying. "One of our best bounty hunters brought him in today, which he willingly submitted to once he became aware that he was wanted. It is our belief that he is not guilty of the murders of Shelke Rui or any of the townspeople of Kalm. Vincent Valentine is not, and I'm going to repeat this – not responsible for the attacks as of late. We are investigating the cause of these attacks and I hope that within the week I will have an answer for you. I urge the people to remember why we have a justice system, and to not practice any vigilante justice on anyone whom you feel is the culprit – my office has someone on-hand 24 hours a day and I invite the public to bring their concerns directly to me. Anyone who feels that justice is in their hands will find otherwise, I assure you of that. Thank you." He left the podium, ignoring the press, who were all busy shouting out questions.

Vincent, who was midway through eating a sandwich, stopped, set it down, and looked at her pointedly.

She looked back at him.

"What's going on, Yuffie?" He asked.

"Well, we had to call of the hunt. I mean, I know where you are now, right? I mean, you haven't actually been questioned but I have and, you know, it pretty much exonerated you. I mean, Rufus still wants to ask you a few questions but -"

"No."

"What?"

"No. I do not...I cannot..." He frowned and crossed his arms, which was almost hilarious looking since he wasn't wearing his cape. Although Vincent, without his gauntlet, still looked a little odd to Yuffie. She'd have to go find it and get it back for him.

Some day.

"Look, Vinnie, everyone's pretty cool about this, they just want to ask some questions."

"Everyone?" Vincent looked at her, offended. "Who else?"

"Just Cid and Reeve, Jesus, Vincent. Calm down. I didn't broadcast the events of the story to the entire world or anything. I just got your name cleared so you can walk outside the house without getting beaten to death. God. It's like I committed a crime or something." She rolled her eyes and bit ferociously into a sandwich, glaring at him.

In the entire month they had spent together, they had never fought like this before, and it felt distinctly odd to Vincent, but he was upset. Upset that someone knew where he was, upset that she'd interfered. A small part of him was touched that she'd want to make sure he was safe from the general public, to the point of making Rufus call off the bounty, but the majority of him was embarrassed to have his private affairs known to anyone outside of his influence.

"Although I probably could have gone without. You don't even look like you now." She looked him over quickly. "No, you just look like a normal emo kid, but with long hair. I don't think anyone would look at you and go 'Hey, that's Vincent Valentine.' It's the red, you know. That's your look." She bit into her sandwich, with a little less anger, and took a sip of soup.

He stood up and went into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. She was...right. He didn't look like himself. At all. It was an odd feeling, as if a well-known stranger were looking back at him through the mirror. His hair was straight, for the first time in well over a decade, thanks to the blow dryer, and he wasn't wearing the claw.

If one didn't know any better...they'd think he were normal.

If not for the fact that he had three monsters inside of him.

"Oh, Vincent. I do need to ask you a question." Yuffie said, coming up on him in the bathroom. She was carrying her empty soup cup; either to put it in the sink or get more soup. Vincent willingly shut the lights off in the bathroom and followed her into the kitchen – she was, in fact, getting more of the soup.

"I'd been thinking about getting a bigger place, cuz of all of the stuff I keep because of bounty hunting." Yuffie said, smiling. "But now you're here, so there's even less space. I still kinda want a different place, you know, so...I mean, just saying...you don't really look like you, so it'd probably be safe...could you help me move?"

"I did not mean to intrude, Yuffie. If I am inconveniencing you, I can leave." Vincent was sincere in that sentiment, but she shook her head.

"No way, jose. Not until we figure out what's going on with Asshole in there. Besides, it's not a huge inconvenience, I don't have a lot of stuff to move. The TV and the extra freezer are about it, as far as furniture goes, but I do have several crates of supplies that I just bought in the garage."

"If you move, I will help." Vincent said, nodding. "I owe you at least that much."

Yuffie made a rude noise and went back to her bed, curling up and grabbing another sandwich. Vincent sat and took up his half-eaten sandwich, even though he'd lost his appetite after the press conference. "Vinnie, you don't owe me anything. The spaghetti you made last night more than made up for any debt you may have accrued. Freakin' awesome."

Vincent was still eating sandwiches (Yuffie insisted he needed food in him) when her phone rang. She eyed him and answered it. Vincent always felt like he was eavesdropping on a conversation when someone talked on the phone near him. Well, half a conversation, anyway.

"Oh, hey. No. Yeah, we just ate. I don't think...no, seriously, I don't think that's a good idea. Don't come over." She sighed and rolled her eyes, and then stood and began pacing at the end of her bed. "Seriously? _Don't_. I mean that, Cid. Don't. Vincent is _fine_, I know you're – You told _who_?" She sighed. "Of course she's bothering you about it, Shera's a huge worrywart. Vincent is fine. I repeat: _Vincent is fine_. I just fed him entirely too many sandwiches. He does not need any more fattening up, no matter what her mothering instincts are saying." A pause, and a laugh. "I know. Okay. I'll pass that along. I'm sure. Uh, no. I will put you on speaker phone and you can say it, but don't expect any answer." She snorted and pressed the speaker phone button. "Speak."

"Just sayin' Vince, next time you up an' disappear on us for months at a time, we're gon' find your ass and beat you into the ground for worryin' us. Or at least, Shera will. Trust me, man, you don't wanna piss her off." A chuckle.

Vincent blinked. The entire conversation on Yuffie's end, and what Cid had said, genuinely startled him. Yuffie and Tifa and Shera, he expected to worry about him, to an extent, because that was who they were. But Cid, expressing worry about him...well, it still surprised him, to this day.

"I will keep that in mind." He replied. Yuffie gaped at him and then laughed.

"You got a response, Cid! Amazing!" She laughed. "Look, I have some shit I've gotta get taken care of, but trust me when I say that Shera can make all of the threats she wants. Just like I told you guys today, Vincent sees people when he wants to. No sooner. Okay?"

"Alrigh', alrigh'." Cid sounded resigned. "Can't blame me for tryin', though. He's our friend too, Yuff. Anyway, take care."

"See you, Cid."

Yuffie...had gone to bat for him. She'd made sure that no one would bother him until he was up to seeing them. He frowned; this was an entirely un-Yuffie act, at least, in his experience.

"They shouldn't rush you like that." Yuffie said. She sat on the bed. "They're just worried, though. I mean, I get worried sometimes, too, and you're living with me, so I guess it's just their right to be worried, since they can't even see you and know if you're alright."

The fact that people in general were worried _for_ him, and not _about _him...was gratifying.

Vincent stood up. "Thank you, Yuffie." He nodded at her, which was the closest he came to a smile nowadays, and then collected their empty soup mugs and the platter, which was now covered in bread crumbs.

"I'm gonna make a call to Rufus, about this house." Yuffie said, standing up. "I'll be out in the garage with Akai, I've barely seen him since I got back."

So it was a him.

**- - - - - **

"It has how many bedrooms?" Yuffie gaped. "I said a house, Rufus, not a freakin' mansion!"

"Most of it is closed up at this point." Rufus pointed out. "It is a manor, so to speak, but really, it'd be perfect. And a half a million gil for this place is a steal."

"I think I'd have to take a look at it, first, Rufus." Yuffie said, faintly. She leaned against Akai. "Going from a studio apartment to a twenty bedroom mansion is not something I ever thought I'd do."

He laughed. "You could have some wild sleepovers, though."

She giggled. "You're right about that." She sighed and sat on the cooler lid. "Thanks, Rufus. You really are an awesome boss sometimes."

"Ow." Rufus said, and she imagined him pretending to clutch at his chest, as if someone had shot him in the heart. "Just a boss? Wow, Yuffie, that's cold. I thought we were friends."

She laughed. "We are, calm down. I'm just...I dunno. I'm really out of it." Another laugh. "On the plus side, Vincent no longer looks like Vincent. I could parade him down the main street, complete with a float and ticker tape, and I don't think anyone would recognize him if they didn't look super close."

"What'd you do?"

"Nothing, except get him different clothes. His hair is straighter, and it's not up in that stupid head band of his, but it makes all the difference. I'm a little less worried now that I'm sure he won't get lynched. Still, I think I'm gonna give him one of my handguns."

"Probably a good idea. Anyway, I talked to Mrs. Pruett. She loves the idea of selling the house to someone young, so they can fill it with their own memories. To quote. She wants me to bring you over so she can show you around, either tonight or tomorrow."

"Tonight's good...wait. I don't think that's a good idea." She said, hitting her head as she remembered Vincent's...condition. "Maybe tomorrow would be-"

"I can go with you to the house, if you wish to see it tonight." Vincent's voice said, from the doorway. She'd left the door to the garage open and he'd obviously been washing dishes.

"Um, hang on, Rufus." She said. She could hear him talking as she pulled the phone away, asking if that was Vincent.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Rufus will be there."

Vincent shrugged. "I'm supposedly a harmless old man, so I suppose there's nothing he can do to me."

"You're not _old_ -" Yuffie stopped. He kinda was, but he didn't look it.

He chuckled. "I turn sixty years old this year, Yuffie. I am most certainly old. But I will go with you to the house if you want to see it tonight. If you wish to wait until tomorrow, that is alright as well."

She nodded. "Okay, Rufus, Vinnie and I will be at your place at six p.m. Is that okay?"

"Sure." Rufus said. He smiled. "You'll love this place, trust me."

"Alright, Rufus. I'm gonna go now, okay? Thanks."

"No problem, Yuffie. I'll see you tonight."

Rufus heard the click as Yuffie ended the call on her side. He set his phone down.

He knew – absolutely knew – that Vincent and Yuffie weren't an item. He knew that Vincent, being the sort of person he was, wouldn't ever pursue Yuffie. But it still galled him that she called him "Vinnie" and "Vince."

Oh well. Yuffie might be his neighbor soon. He smiled at that and the bad feeling dissipated.

He knew he'd never have Yuffie. He'd accepted it a long time ago. But that didn't mean he didn't get ridiculously jealous over her. She was amazing, and any man who couldn't see it was as stupid as they came.

Rufus found himself wishing fervently that Vincent was that stupid.

_Author's Notes: Wow, this is retardedly long compared to what I've written before. I like how it came out, though; it was kind of forced at first, but it built up. And now, I have a job interview to rest for, and I only have four hours until I have to wake up! I have no idea when I'll update next, but here's hoping it's soon. Bug my muse if you want more. :)_

_Read? Review! _


	5. Every Time I Turn Around

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Five – Every Time I Turn Around**_

_And it's like  
Every time I turn around  
I fall in love and find my heart face down  
And where it lands is where it should  
This time, it's like  
The two of us should probably start to fight  
Cuz something's gotta go wrong  
Cuz I'm feelin' way too damn good_

-- Nickelback, _Feelin' Way Too Damn Good_

Yuffie had been right. In this new getup no one recognized him.

Vincent was vaguely disturbed by the implication that he was defined by his choice of clothing. It seemed so...high school.

It was beginning to get dark; Vincent still got nervous at sunset, but as usual, the Galian Beast did not surface, not even a rumble.

The motorcycle ride to Rufus' house, however, more than made up for the missing rumbling of the beast. Yuffie's bike, a Sportster modified to seat two, was lean, but loud.

Vincent was no stranger to motorcycles, but he'd never ridden a Harley before and was startled every time Yuffie shifted a gear; an annoyingly loud roar would emanate from the engine and she'd look over her shoulder and grin at him, her hair flapping in Vincent's face.

He couldn't blame her for her hair, though; his was nearly as long, and it was getting the way too.

Kalm had expanded, sprawling outward toward the beach and out toward the edge of the old Midgar area. Charming huts and buildings soon gave way to major markets and then auto dealerships, and finally, estates.

Vincent thought of them that way because that was what they were. Not a single house in this area had anything less than six bedrooms and three bathrooms; most had large garages and things like pools and jacuzzis. One place they passed even had a personal valet at the door, waiting for it's occupant.

"Dio's place!" Yuffie shouted, pointing at it.

They sped down the street for some time. Yuffie very suddenly slowed and turned into the driveway at one, and Vincent had to remind himself (very sternly) to lean into the turn with her.

Rufus' house was somewhat white and not quite imposing. Vincent didn't take all of it in because he wasn't the kind of person who stared at houses, but he got impressions of marble, jade, and obsidian.

Yuffie parked her bike at the front. "I'm not gonna bother trying to get one of his guys to park this thing, they'll never manage it." She said, grinning as she pulled her helmet off. "How do you like her?"

"Hm?" Vincent asked, busy removing himself from the contraption.

"My bike!" She smiled and patted it fondly. "Cloud gave it to me. I named her Mana." Her fingers lightly set upon the kanji characters etched into the bike's paint.

"Truth?" Vincent asked, blinking. Yuffie glanced at him, realizing he'd translated the Wutain name into Standard. She didn't know he spoke Wutain.

"Always seek it." Yuffie said, setting her helmet on the seat and turning toward the house. She glanced at her watch. "Six p.m. on the dot. Let's go."

**- - - - - **

"Mrs. Pruett is expecting us." Rufus said. The house was "just down the street," but still required a trip out in Rufus' town car, as the street was several miles long and the properties were as well. He politely held out the door for Yuffie and Vincent; he did have people who worked for him, but Rufus was anything but pretentious. He had money, but he'd learned not to lord it over people. His father had taught him that. By accident, of course.

Rufus led them to the front door and rang the bell. A few minutes passed before an elderly lady answered it.

"Oh, come in, come in." She said, smiling and bowing. Yuffie bowed back; Mrs. Pruett must have married a mainlander with a name like that, because she was distinctly Wutain.

"Such an honor to have the Princess interested in buying my home." Mrs. Pruett said as she closed the door behind them. "I wish nothing more than to leave it. My honored husband departed this world, and his memory haunts me."

Yuffie nodded gravely. She spied an alter, with lit sticks of incense and food left for the dead, and smiled. It reminded her of Wutai.

"Ah, yes, my alter." Mrs. Pruett said, leading her to it. "It comes with the house; I fear it's cemented in with the rest of it. When my husband built the house, he put it in for me, never thinking we would leave here."

The woman led them on a small tour of the house; it was mostly empty, her belongings having been sent to her new home at Costa del Sol. She was, she said, packing up her last few momentos and taking care of some final business transactions (she and her husband owned a travel business, it seemed) before she left.

There were, indeed, 20 bedrooms, each with it's own personal bathroom. "We often had guests, so my husband made it quite like a hotel." She smiled at her late spouse's whimsy. "It did come in handy several times." The bedrooms were all furnished, except for the master bedroom. "I have no need of all of this furniture. It is cheap compared to the grand things my husband had, and those are all at my new house. It is yours to keep or dispose of it as you wish."

Yuffie thanked her, politely. The house was really too grand, but at a half a million gil it was practically a steal; best to buy it and sell it off if she decided she didn't like it.

However, there were little touches she adored; little hints of Wutai that made the place feel like home. The kitchen, especially, was huge and airy, and styled in the tradition of the great chefs of Wutai. She could just see making sushi and miso soup in here, Vincent helping her, AVALANCHE in the living room laughing at each other, waiting for them...

And the master bedroom was huge. It was bigger than her entire studio apartment, and done in enamel lacquer in red and black. Various proverbs were done over the red walls with black enamel; Wutain and otherwise, but all done in kanji.

She loved the bathroom, although she didn't think she'd ever actually use it; it was a work of art, and really too grand to be used as a bathroom. It was downright extravagant and she thought that Mr. Pruett must have had an eye for rich things. The tub was a statue of Leviathan; the water, when the taps were turned, fell down Him like a fountain. The water, Mrs. Pruett explained, was constantly filtered out, so the water was kept on for baths. Wutain women only take baths once they own their own home, so there was no need for a shower.

The sink was all black marble and obsidian, with handles of jade that were probably worth more than her life.

The toilet, even, was overexpensive and rich looking. Yuffie loved it, but at the same time she felt dirty for wanting this house, even at such a great price.

It felt pretentious, although Mrs. Pruett was humble enough. Her husband must have loved her very much; he had obviously made this house for her. She felt bad even wanting to buy it, seeing as it was obviously a labor of love.

"We lived here a long time, before Edge was born; before Midgar was born." Mrs. Pruett said. "Before this street was here, we were here. We loved this house, and we used it well. It is time to pass it on to someone else who will love it." She smiled.

The tour took about an hour, for such a huge house. Yuffie was struggling with her internal sense of right and wrong when Vincent spoke to her, the first time he'd said anything since Rufus had answered his door.

"It is a very nice manor, Yuffie. Befitting the Princess of Wutai." He smirked. "Even Godo Kisaragi doesn't have a house this fine."

That sealed the deal; Godo would be, of course, extremely jealous and because she disliked him, even though she loved him because he was her father, and she loved the idea of her father being jealous.

Sure, it was childish, but he did it too, and he was almost as old as Vincent.

Yuffie was no novice when it came to purchasing property; she'd done it before, for Wutai and for her family, and she'd probably do it again. Before it was just parcels, but the concept was the same.

"What do you ask?" Yuffie said. That was a formality; of course she knew the asking price was 500,000 gil.

"500,000 gil. A steal for such a grand manor." Mrs. Pruett said. Her eyes had hardened; bargaining was a huge deal in Wutai, and while Yuffie would love to just give her the half a million, Wutain custom dictated that she find something to bargain by.

"You said it was haunted. I offer 450,000 for the inconvenience of lingering spirits." Yuffie said. Her eyes were just as hard as Mrs. Pruett's, but there was a twinkle there and Mrs. Pruett threw her head back and laughed.

"I merely said I was haunted. But you may be right; lingering spirits are nothing to laugh at. 475,000."

After much haggling and good-natured bickering between the two, a final price of 483,000 was settled upon. "You drive a hard bargain, princess." Mrs. Pruett bowed. "You honor me by making an offer on my home. I haven't bargained like that in years; perhaps I ought to visit the homeland before I settle in at Costa del Sol." She smiled. "Mr. Shinra, if you would call your notary?"

Rufus smiled and made the call. The papers were drawn and signed, and Yuffie transferred the money from her account to Mrs. Pruett's account, via her communique.

"I'll take this over to the registrar's office now, Ms. Kisaragi." Rufus' notary said, smiling. "I'll have the deed to you by tomorrow morning."

"I will be finished tomorrow afternoon. If you will come by before I leave at five, I will give you the keys." Mrs. Pruett said. She bowed again. "If you wish to look around, feel free. Lock the door when you leave. I trust you." She smiled at Yuffie and excused herself to bed.

The notary had gone to take the land transfer paperwork to the public office, which was open all hours, and Rufus had gone out to the car. Yuffie had all but forgotten that Vincent was there when he, hesitantly, put his hand on her shoulder as she stood staring at the shrine.

"Let's go, Yuffie. There'll be time for looking later. Rufus is waiting for you."

"One sec." Yuffie said. She took out her lighter and relit the incense; no doubt left by Mrs. Pruett in honor of her late husband. Bowing her head, she said a quiet prayer, thanking Mr. Pruett for his gift, before she turned and smiled at Vincent.

"Ready. Let's go."

**- - - - - **

They were riding back to Rufus' house when his phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID. "It's Red." He said, giving Yuffie a glance before he flipped it open, disregarding the fact that he was driving.

"Hi." There was some excited talking on the other end, but neither Yuffie nor Vincent could make it out. "Really. Send it over to my fax, and I'll have a look at it. Better let Cid and Reeve know, too." Another pause, and a slight chuckle. "Right. Okay. We'll be back at my place soon enough. Thanks."

Yuffie looked at him.

"Red found the stuff, including the entire legend, which isn't just a Wutain legend, apparently. He's sending everything he found over. The people of Cosmo Canyon are going insane about some legendary celestial event, and it seems that might have something to do with it." He sighed. "I've got a long night of researching ahead of me. Red's sending it all over. He hasn't made any sense of it, but he figured I'd want to know."

Yuffie nodded and looked at Vincent, who shrugged and looked out the window. He still wasn't keen on speaking to anyone.

"I want to see, too."

Rufus nodded and flipped open his phone again. "I'll have someone order some food and make some coffee. We're gonna need it."

**- - - - - **

Halfway through the phone call Vincent had something of a fit, albeit a quiet one.

He insisted on making something to eat; the food, if ordered, would not get there for at least an hour or two, due to the fact that it was getting late and Rufus lived so far away.

Rufus and Yuffie both protested and Rufus terminated the call to one of his aides, telling just to brew coffee until they figured out what they were going to do.

Vincent was strangely insistent on cooking. He wouldn't give in, however, until Yuffie stopped arguing and looked at him.

"You're part Wutain, hm?" She asked.

"On my mother's side." Vincent said. "Why does that have anything to do with it?"

"Well, in Wutai, you give food in thanks, and prepare meals for people who have done a lot for you. Also, food cures all – to us Wutains, a good meal solves any problem, including an all-nighter studying." She clucked her tongue at him. "Very sentimental of you, Vincent."

Vincent frowned and pursed his lips before staring back out the window. They pulled into Rufus' driveway.

But Yuffie had him pinned. It was something his mother had always told him, that if someone is helping you with something, you ought to prepare them a good meal. It was a way to help, and a way to show gratitude that wasn't a hindrance. Yuffie, obviously, was helping him out a great deal, and already had, and Rufus was as well. He was indebted to them, and he intended on paying off some of that debt by making something to eat.

Oddly, it was his way of saying thanks.

There was no more argument against him preparing something to eat. Especially when the three of them caught sight of the mountain of paper spewing out of Rufus' fax machine. Yuffie exclaimed in horror and ran to go pick it up and attempt to organize it, while Rufus dashed over to the machine itself, which was beeping that it had no paper.

He quickly refilled it and looked over at Vincent directly, for the first time since he'd been there. "I think we would both enjoy a good meal, Vincent, if you would so favor us." Vincent nodded and followed the younger man's directions to the kitchen.

Rufus kept a fully-stocked kitchen. Vincent searched through his repertoire of recipes; he hadn't had much of a use to use them in the past 30 years or so, but there was a veritable cornucopia in his brain of foodstuffs, one that many chefs would drool over. Vincent's father was from Corel, and his mother Wutai, and between the two of them and their travels, they had taught their young son much. After his father had disappeared, he had joined Shinra, disappointing his mother, who had hoped he'd go to a culinary school, as she had.

He finally settled upon what things to make and set to checking that Rufus had the ingredients. Of course, he did. This was obviously a professional kitchen; Rufus himself could hire people to cook for him, although Vincent's respect for the man would wane if he learned that he couldn't even cook for himself.

Meanwhile, Rufus and Yuffie were scurrying to gather up what looked to be an entire dictionary of definitions regarding molecular biology in length. In reality, it was scans of tomes and translations, and diagrams and spacial relations papers. When they finally managed to get them all in order and the fax stopped spewing them out, there were well over a thousand pages. Yuffie organized and copied them while Rufus went to change; the fax machine had spilled toner all down his side and his hand looked like it was rotting, it was so black.

By the time Rufus managed to get his hand clean, Yuffie had gotten through the scans and their translations; every translation was stapled to the top of the scan it pertained to, and they were all put in order. She could read the ancient script the tomes were written in; it was a variant of Wutain. Rufus, however, could not.

They started in on organizing the other pages into piles and in the correct order. "Red wasn't kidding when he said that there was a lot of stuff pertaining to this." Rufus said, thumbing through a printout on the solar system. They finally finished organizing the three copies they had; one for each of them.

There was a clattering and they both looked up and saw Vincent pushing a catering cart. "I borrowed it." Vincent said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "If this is going to take the majority of the night, we'll need food throughout it."

In the hour and a half it had taken them to do all of that, Vincent had prepared a large amount of snacking food and appetizers, all set on dishes that could be covered so they'd stay good throughout the evening. He also had borrowed a cooler from the same place he'd gotten the food cart, which was a rarely-used pantry at the back of the kitchen, and had brought in a large assortment of sodas and other drinks.

Rufus obviously put in a lot of all-nighers; his study, which is where his fax was located, was large and comfortable, with chairs and couches set up conveniently throughout the room. There were also plenty of tables and such things for setting drinks and food on. Vincent set out the food and set the cooler near a large table, and then pushed the catering cart into the corner.

Then there was a ringing.

"The doorbell." Rufus said, frowning. He left the two of them in the room.

"This looks great, Vinnie." Yuffie said, taking in the food. There was a pot of meatballs marinating in some sort of sauce, stuffed mushrooms, finger sandwiches, strawberries stuffed with what looked to be chocolate, various different kinds of crackers topped with various kinds of cheeses and meats, and an assortment of sweet things. There was...a lot of it, too. She didn't see how they'd ever be able to finish it all, even with all three of them partaking. "How'd you manage to make it all so fast?"

"Rufus has...a very large kitchen." Vincent said. "I was able to cook several things at the same time."

"How do you know how to do all of this? It's amazing." Yuffie said, smiling at him.

Vincent shrugged. "My mother was a chef. I do not think I could have escaped picking up...a few things."

"But there's so much of it!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I'd hate for all of this to go to waste."

At that point Rufus came back in, chagrin written on his face. "Cid and Reeve are here, with their copies."

Reeve walked in. "I figure we could all put our heads together – Vincent!" Reeve had obviously not been warned that Vincent and Yuffie were here; he dropped his copy of the information Red had faxed.

Cid, not realizing Reeve had stopped because he was flipping through one of the spacial distance reports, plowed into Reeve. "Hey, warn a – Vince!" He stepped around Reeve and strode over to Vincent. "Damn, man, ya look almost normal! Yuffie been takin' care of ya?" He slapped Vincent on the shoulder. "Good to see you, though, man, in one piece."

Vincent nodded at Cid, and then turned to Yuffie. "I figured we'd have company. Rufus indicated that Red would be sending copies to Reeve and Cid."

Her mouth formed an O. "You knew they'd come?"

Vincent nodded.

Reeve was still staring at Vincent, who turned and regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

The younger man coughed and then walked over to Vincent as well. "I am glad you are well, Vincent."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Reeve, Cid." Vincent nodded at the other two men. Rufus picked up Reeve's copy of Red's research and handed it to him.

"If this is an all-nighter, we'd better get to the actual studying." He said, smirking. "Let's leave the hellos for later."

While the other two men were regarding Rufus, Vincent shot him a grateful look. Rufus smirked.

The five of them settled themselves about the main table that Vincent had piled the food on; Rufus appeared with plates for everyone. After they had all helped themselves, they sat down and began flipping through the report.

Yuffie and Vincent sat at opposite ends of a largish leather couch, which was surrounded by end tables that they set their sodas and food plates on. Yuffie was curled up, comfortably; Vincent sat with his elbows on his knees, reading intently.

Rufus sat in a chair that shared an end table with Yuffie. He twirled a cigarette in his fingers but had not lit it; Vincent wondered if the man actually smoked or if it was one of Yuffie's. That table did have an ashtray, so either Rufus allowed Yuffie to smoke in his house, or he himself did.

Cid was stretched out along a loveseat that matched Yuffie and Vincent's couch. One of his booted (but clean) feet was planted on the couch. He had his ever-present cigarette in his mouth, but hadn't lit it yet. Occasionally, he'd shove it behind his ear and eat something.

Reeve had another chair, identical to Rufus', that was along the loveseat and shared an end table with it, but not the one Cid was using.

The sounds of flipping pages, occasional coughs, and eating filled the room.

About thirty minutes after they'd sat and began reading, Reeve looked at the food he was eating as if he'd never seen it before, and spoke. "Rufus, who made this? It's really good."

"Vincent made all of it." Rufus said, not taking his eyes off of the paper he was reading.

Reeve's eyes slid to the gunslinger. "Vincent?"

Vincent nodded, also refusing to look from his report.

Cid sat up in the loveseat. "Vince made this stuff?" He had a sandwich in his hand, but his plate had held a little bit of everything.

"Yeah." Yuffie said, looking over at them and willing them to shut up. Vincent didn't like talking about himself. With anyone else, anyway; he spilled plenty to her.

Reeve seemed to get the hint, and he shot Cid a look. Cid got it, too, and they shut up.

All was silent, then, for several hours. Occasionally the silence would be interrupted by a cough, the sounds of someone getting up to get more food or something to drink, someone shifting in their seat.

Then Yuffie sat up straight.

"Guys, listen to this." She said, pointing to her copy. She began to recite it. "The Legend is known by several names; in the Wutain version, the only well-known version, it is known as Yu Fi and the Red Dragon. The legend vaguely hints at the reasons why the Red Dragon that Yu Fi had to slay was so ferocious, but our research found that at the time Yu Fi was believed to have been alive, a rare alignment of the planets and sun had taken place; the planets, moons, and sun were all aligned as one. In the months preceding this event, which lasted approximately twelve hours, the monsters and animals throughout the world began acting in an odd manner, and the WEAPONs terrorized the world. As soon as the conjunction faded, everything returned to normal, but a lasting effect was seen for several generations; the twelve hours of Hell the planet had experienced decimated the Planet's population and a small ice age began that lasted approximately 500 years, throwing the northern continent into an eternal winter due to the smoke from the fires of villages burning. This was well after the documented Calamity from the Skies fell, as the Cetra had since returned to the Planet; this alignment occurs once every thousand years. The alignment will occur again within the next hundred years; officials would do well to alert the population when it seems the event will take place, so that the people will have a chance to fortify their dwellings and stock up on essentials." She paused. "There's a footnote, added after the paper finished."

She flipped her page. "The next alignment is expected to occur on October 20, 2007, at precisely 1632 hours. We have calculated this and believe it to be right, using the planetary monitoring device at Cosmo Canyon."

She looked up at the group, who was staring at her with their jaws slack – even Vincent. "That's 22 days from now." Then she glanced at her watch. "Well, 21 and a half."

"That's not nearly enough time to fortify the homes of the entire population of the planet." Rufus said. The entire feeling of the room had gone from studious to "Oh shit" really fast.

"Not even enough time to fortify half of the population, or even to do the cities." Reeve said. "Some places are pretty well equipped – Edge is all made up of pieces of Midgar, and it's all pretty structurally sound. Most people would only need to make their doors stronger to be relatively safe. And Mideel, now that it's been rebuilt, is fairly safe, even if it is close to the Lifestream. Cosmo Canyon is all caves, I think the people there would be safe. And Healin is all military-grade building materials. But North Corel...Wutai...Icicle Inn...and here in Kalm, too...the people would be screwed, frankly."

Rufus sighed. He was going to have to call his aide and ask to cancel the vacation; the world was in trouble, he was sure she'd understand.

"I think we oughta let everyone else know." Cid said. "In AVALANCHE, I mean. Maybe they'll have some ideas."

"I'm going to call Red." Rufus said, standing up. "He might have some insight. I leave it to you guys to let the others know." He looked at Vincent. "Vincent, I'm not sure if Yuffie told you, but I believe that my scientists have figured out how to extract the monsters from your body."

Vincent looked at him.

"Thing is, they need to run some tests before they can be sure. I am not a scientist, but something tells me that in the next few weeks, Yuffie's presence and the daylight are not going to be enough to keep them asleep. I think you should consider it." He stepped out of the room, reaching in his pocket for his phone as he did so.

Vincent looked after him in shock.

"Think on it, Vinnie." Yuffie said quietly. She stood and stretched. "I need to get out and do something. Anything. Let's clean this up." Cid, Reeve, and Vincent all stood up, helping her clear off the table and put the empty plates and serving trays (for all of Vincent's munchies had been eaten, except for a few stragglers) on the cart, which Vincent wheeled back to the kitchen to wash.

There was a slam at the door. "Mr. Shinra?" A female voice called out. Yuffie, confused, poked her head out the door of the study. A young woman, probably about her age, was standing in Rufus' foyer. Her long, black hair was done up in a bun; she had the look of Wutai in her, but she was pale. She was clutching a clipboard and an attache case, and a pen was stuck behind her ear. She wore a professional looking skirt-suit.

"Oh, hi." The girl said. She was speaking to Yuffie. "Is Rufus here? He called me and told me he'd have to cancel my vacation because of an emergency, and I came over to see if he needed any help."

"Er..." Yuffie said, stepping out from the study. "He's here, but honestly, I'm not sure where he is."

"Oh. Well, I'll wait." She smiled and stuck out her hand. "Callisto Almasy. I'm Mr. Shinra's personal assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kisaragi."

Yuffie blushed. "I just go by Yuffie."

"Sure thing. I go by Cally, if you need a name." The girl set her briefcase down. "I finally got a vacation and it gets canceled. I think I at least deserve an explanation from my boss." She chuckled.

"Oh, well, I can probably give you that." Yuffie said. "We've just discovered that there's a shitload of trouble coming our way. Naturally, Rufus, being a business man and not a normal person, would think to first cancel his probably overworked aide's vacation." She rolled her eyes.

Cally laughed. "It's alright, I was just going to sit at home anyway. Also, I expect that if the world is coming to an end, I'll get hazard pay out of the deal."

Yuffie laughed too. "I'm sure. Here, let's go find him, he's probably in his living room."

She passed the door and she could hear Cid and Reeve urgently making plans and discussing evacuations and blueprints. She was glad Rufus' aid had come to interrupt the boredom.

They actually found Rufus in the kitchen, helping Vincent do the dishes. The two men were companionably silent, rinsing the plates and serving dishes and loading them into Rufus' industrial-sized dishwasher.

"Callisto, what are you doing here?" Rufus said, looking shocked.

"Well, you sounded worried when you called, sir, so I figured I'd stop over and see if you needed help with anything." She said, setting her briefcase down on the counter. "It's still pretty early, but I was up already. I was going to come in and finish some stuff before the vacation." A wry smile was on her lips.

"I'm really sorry about that." Rufus said, frowning.

"It's not a problem, sir. Like I told Yuffie, I wasn't actually going anywhere on my vacation, so you're not interrupting anything important. Actually.." Cally glanced at Yuffie and then back at Rufus. "She said something about a 'heap of trouble.'" She implored Rufus to explain.

"Something like that." Rufus sighed and wiped his brow with his arm. Vincent loaded the last dirty dish into the dishwasher.

Rufus was deep in thought while he put washing fluid into the slot for it and started the washer. "There's a lot of stuff going on, Cally." Briefly, he explained the situation, as Yuffie and Vincent took over cleaning the kitchen.

Cally raised her eyebrow as Rufus finished explaining. Yuffie giggled; it was such a Vincent Valentine expression that it was odd to her to see it on someone else's face.

"So I _will_ be getting hazard pay." She said, smugly, before she opened up her briefcase and took out a notepad. "Well, we might as well get started, although I think, sir, that it would be best if you just give me a list of things to do and take a nap. You look...well, horrible, to be honest."

Rufus looked at her and then laughed. "Hazard pay. Alright, fine. I'll give you hazard pay for your canceled vacation. Deal?"

She grinned. "Sure thing. Anyway, let me know what you need and then take a nap. You really do look awful."

"She's right." Yuffie chimed in. "Actually, everyone looks pretty bad. Except Vincent, who never looks like he's tired." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm quite tired." Vincent said, frowning at her. "I cannot be held responsible if my natural facial expression doesn't portray that."

Yuffie laughed. "Imagine that, Rufus. Vincent Valentine just cracked a joke."

Rufus smiled. Cally, however, frowned and looked at Vincent oddly. In a much more businesslike voice, she looked at Rufus again. "Anyway, sir, give me a list, and I'll do it."

"Oh, very well." Rufus said. "Let's see...I need a list of metal building materials we have available. I also need to discontinue every construction project currently going on unless it is going to be finished within the next 20 days and is structurally sound enough to protect people in those times. I need a list of what emergency food stores we have available, and I will need a satellite echo survey, geological, of every geographic location on the planet that is near an inhabited area...let's say, within three klicks of the city limits." He smiled. "Also, now that you have the low-down, I need a rough draft of a press release on my desk by the time I come in." He glanced at his watch. "It's almost 4 a.m. now. If I get six hours – and that IS enough, Ms. Almasy – I will be awake at about 10 a.m., so expect me in by 11. Alright?"

"Sure thing." Cally snapped her notepad shut, sent something resembling a glare at Vincent, and then nodded goodbye to Vincent. They could hear her leave.

"Wow, what's with the attitude toward Vinnie?" Yuffie asked.

Rufus looked at her. "You couldn't tell?"

Vincent frowned at Rufus. "Tell what?"

Rufus snorted. "Wow. You might want to look up your family tree, Vincent."

"What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

Rufus sighed and reached into his fridge, withdrawing a beer. He offered Vincent and Yuffie one; both declined.

"I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but I'll go ahead." He said. "After your father died, Vincent, your mother lived alone for a very long time. She believed that both you and your father had departed this world. I looked up her file – she was only 17 when she gave birth to you. Very young."

"I know this already." Vincent said, his voice getting almost dangerous. He didn't like the idea that Rufus Shinra knew this much about him.

"Yeah, well, what you don't know is that she did wind up remarrying. She married Seifer Almasy, a trader from Gongaga, and they produced one, singular, female child: Callisto Jade Almasy." He smirked. "Who just left here. She's your half-sister, Vincent."

"I'm almost sixty years old. There is no way she can be my sister."

"Sure there is." Rufus said. "Your mother had you when she was 17. You're about to turn 60. Your mother, if she were still alive, would be 77. She had Cally when she was in her very late 40's. Cally is nearly 28."

Vincent stared at him as if he'd never seen him before.

"It isn't possible." He insisted.

"It is, indeed. Cally doesn't seem to realize, however unfortunately, that you don't – or didn't, until now – know about her existence. She thought you were just uninterested in finding out about your family."

"How do you know this?" Vincent demanded.

Rufus rolled his eyes and tossed his empty beer can into the garbage. "I, unlike you, Vincent, don't stay out of other people's business. In fact, I actually take that extra step forward, and _talk_ to them." He turned toward the hallway. "I'm gonna go crash, or else Cally will kill me when I get into the office." He tossed a wave at them. "Goodnight, guys."

Yuffie turned toward Vincent, eyes wide. "Vincent..."

"I think we should inform Cid and Reeve that Rufus has gone to bed." He said, his voice containing a hint of steel. He didn't want to talk about anything.

"Fine." Yuffie snapped. She tossed the sponge she was holding into the sink and stalked off.

Vincent sighed. Tonight had been entirely too long. It really was time to go home.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie zoomed them through the streets at entirely too fast a speed, leaving Vincent clutching at her sides in fear every time she turned. She was obviously still pissed at him.

She pulled into the parking lot of a 24-hour department store and put the kickstand up, pulling her helmet off with an angry movement and throwing it onto the seat. That it hit Vincent in the knee was probably part of the reason she'd thrown it so harshly.

Vincent pulled his helmet off and set it down, and followed her. He wondered if he should ask what was wrong, but he knew what was wrong and he didn't feel up to discussing it.

She walked up to the customer service desk in the back. "Do you have any boxes left from stocking? I'm moving and I need them." She said. Her voice sounded pleasant, but the clerk could obviously tell she felt like killing something, because his eyes widened and he stepped back.

"I can check." He forced himself to turn around and walk through a door.

Yuffie tapped her foot impatiently.

"Yuffie." Vincent said.

She turned to him. "WHAT?"

"I realize that you're angry at me. But it is obviously affecting your thinking. You are on a motorcycle. How are you going to get the boxes home?"

Yuffie glared at him. "You're going to carry them."

Vincent's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Consider it payment for being a dick." Yuffie said.

He clenched his jaw. "I think I'm hearing things. You think I'm being a 'dick' because I don't wish to discuss a sister I never knew I had? You don't think that, perhaps, it would be appropriate to have that information sink in a little bit, to have a bit of time to think about it, before I even consider discussing it with someone?"

Yuffie stared at him in shock. "Wow. A friggin' speech from Vincent Valentine himself." She rolled her eyes. "No, Vincent, I think you're being a dick because you assumed I was going to want to discuss your sister, when all I was going to do was suggest that perhaps you shouldn't come to the office tomorrow when I go in to talk to Rufus. I'm not a completely inconsiderate moron, you know. You have the market cornered on that."

He stared at her.

Then Yuffie burst out laughing. "Vincent, I believe that you and I have had our first fight. Let's get over it, alright?"

"That's fine, but how are we going to get the boxes home?" Vincent asked.

Yuffie's laughter increased in pitch. "Haha...hahaha..." She doubled over. "Man, I'm going nuts. I really need sleep."

"We have some boxes collapsed." The clerk said, coming out of the office. He seemed relieved to find Yuffie laughing now.

"Okay. Can I have some?" Yuffie asked, straightening up but still laughing.

"Sure, how many do you need?"

Yuffie, still giggling, considered. "How big are they?"

"They're mid-sized." The clerk responded, shrugging.

"Alright, do you have...six or seven of them?" She asked. She'd finally stopped laughing, but every now and then she'd giggle.

"Sure thing." The clerk brought them out and Vincent took them, gravely.

"Vincent, you don't have to carry them. I'll carry them. It's not that far." Yuffie said, once they got outside. "Just push my bike."

So the sun found them, that morning, walking the road to Yuffie's apartment – Yuffie carrying a bunch of collapsed boxes, and Vincent pushing her motorcycle along the road, gravely.

They entered via the garage, and her chocobo clucked at them alarmingly. "Whoa, Akai, calm down!"

"WAAARK!" The chocobo said, rearing upward.

"Wow, I don't know what's wrong with him!" Yuffie said, throwing the boxes down and rushing over to her bird.

"Yuffie...!" Vincent said, urgently. Too late.

"Ow!" The bird had attacked her; a long laceration now graced her right arm, from the shoulder to the elbow, and again on her left arm from her elbow to her wrist, where she'd turned to block the bird's attack.

Vincent rushed up behind Yuffie and drew her gun from her holster. The chambers were still full of tranquilizer darts, and he shot the bird three times with them. It slumped to the ground, asleep.

"What the hell was wrong with Akai?" Yuffie asked, pain in her voice as Vincent picked her up, ignoring the blood, and brought her inside.

"I expect it has to do with the planetary alignment's approach." Vincent said, calmly sitting her on one of the kitchen counters. He went into the living room and returned with her emergency pack from the trip. Extracting the first aid kit, he began cleaning her wounds; if he cast restore on them without cleaning them, there was a good chance an infection would grow under her skin.

"Ow." Yuffie said, as the rubbing alcohol touched her skin. "Okay, that makes sense. I guess we'll have to move him to the public stables...or let him go." She sounded regretful.

"The tranquilizers will keep him asleep for about twelve hours. When we wake up we can call Rufus and ask whether they would like to keep Akai under observation." Vincent said. He finished cleaning off the cut on her upper arm and cast Cure on it, then began cleaning the other wound when the first sealed itself.

"I guess." Yuffie shuddered. "I'm not even remotely sleepy now." She sighed in relief as her other wound closed up.

"I have to admit that I have lost the desire to sleep, as well." Vincent said. He repacked the first aid kit. "I suppose we could pack up your belongings."

"Yeah, since we have boxes now." Yuffie giggled. She hopped off the counter, almost plowing into Vincent but not quite. "Let's eat a snack first and then pack everything."

They ate some of Yuffie's frozen dinners and then began. She packed all of her things that they wouldn't be using that night – her cookware, her nonperishable food, her linens and all but one set of clothing for both of them.

"We'll have to go shopping for you, Vinnie." Yuffie said, smiling at him as she folded up her underthings. "You need more clothes."

He looked at her in dismay. "Yuffie, I wore the exact same set of clothing for thirty years. I think this is fine."

She laughed. "Yeah, but now it's time to join the real world. We like to change clothes."

When they were done, about two hours later, all of Yuffie's things were stacked on top of the crates in her garage. Her apartment looked as bare as it had before, but her closet and most of her cabinets were empty.

Yuffie yawned. "Okay, now I'm tired. Let's hit the sack. We have to be at the house before Mrs. Pruett leaves and that's in...seven hours." She stretched out on her bed and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Vincent chuckled. He covered her with her blanket, reflecting on the many times she had done so for him, and then lay down on the futon without bothering to unfold it.

As was usual for him, he delayed sleep, pondering over his thoughts. Tomorrow – today – would doubtless be a very long, hard day, just as yesterday had been. They would be moving Yuffie's things to her new house, and probably buying more furniture to fill it, and then moving that. And on top of it, trying to figure out how to save the world.

At least Rufus was not going to be there. He got the feeling the man didn't like him. Actually, Vincent couldn't blame him much. He glanced at Yuffie.

After all, Rufus and he were both in love with the same woman.

_Author's Notes: Haha! Cameos! Seifer from FF8 and Cally, my beta-reader! Seriously, if you saw how pale Cally was – you'd agree, she's Vincent's sister. And, well, I just love Seifer. _

_As for the name of Yuffie's bike – Mana, when used as a female name, means "Truth" or "true." I just went with it._

_And everyone, remember to thank Cally. She caught a huge brain fart on my part about the gender of Yuffie's chocobo. O.o I love having a good beta-reader._

_Read? Review!_


	6. Lessons On How To Breathe

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Six – Lessons On How To Breathe**_

_Turn your television off  
And I will sing a song  
And if you suddenly have the urge  
Well, you could sing along  
I touch your hair, touch your face  
I think the fruit is rotten  
Give me lessons on how to breathe  
Cuz I think I've forgotten  
Yeah, think I've forgotten_

-- Nickelback, _Leader of Men_

**Warning: making out and masturbation ahead.**

The next day was...hectic, to say the least.

About five hours after Yuffie and Vincent had fallen asleep, they were woken up by a loud knocking on their door. It was Rufus, with Yuffie's deed.

He looked a little better from when they had seen him last, but not much. Yuffie invited him in while Vincent started a pot of coffee.

"Did Cally get that stuff for you?" Yuffie asked, tiredly.

Rufus nodded. "There's some caves that are big enough to house local populations near a lot of the towns; it'll be easier to reinforce those and just evacuate everyone there when the alignment happens. We're shipping out materials today; next week, when the reinforcements are completed, we'll send out food and water supplies to the caves, for when they're occupied. Reeve has the WRO working around the clock on it."

"Oh, that's really good."

"Yuffie, after you get situated, I think you ought to take precautions; fortify your structure. The majority of the house is stone so you don't have to worry about that...but the windows and doors..."

Yuffie nodded. "You'll be doing the same?"

"Of course. I called a contractor about ten minutes ago; he has a really good deal, I think you should talk to him." Rufus handed her a card.

"Will do." She smiled at him. "We're going to head over to the house as soon as we get moving properly, to pick up the key."

Rufus smiled as well. "If you need anything, let me know. But I will be unfortunately busy today, or else I'd come over for housewarming."

"Oh, don't worry, we'll be busy too. Between moving my stuff, buying new furniture, and organizing the contractor, today is going to be full. And then tomorrow, there's all of this." She said, sighing as she sat on the bed. She accepted a cup of coffee from Vincent, who then offered Rufus a cup.

"Oh, please." Rufus said, sinking to the futon couch. His head was in his hands. "Today has been ridiculous. You can't even begin to understand how ridiculous. We haven't even released a press release yet. That comes tomorrow. I suggest you call the contractor today, Yuffie, because he might be busy tomorrow." Rufus looked at her appealingly.

"Sure thing." Yuffie sipped from her coffee. Then she looked back up at Rufus. "Rufus...Akai started acting weird last night. He attacked me. Vincent said he thinks it's the thing that paper mentioned, where it said monsters and animals went nuts." She shuddered. "I don't want to let Akai loose, he might not survive it. Should I put him in the stables?"

Rufus shook his head. "No. Where is he?"

"He's unconscious. Vincent got him with my trank darts when he attacked me."

"Bring him to the lab. I'll have him put under observation so we can see how berserk animals are going to go. And that way he'll also be safe." He smiled at her.

"Thanks, Rufus." Yuffie said. She stood and stretched. "I think...I need a shower. You make sure you get something to eat, buster!" Yuffie said. She turned to Vincent. "Make him a sandwich or something. He's rail thin." She grabbed a towel and her pile of clothes she'd chosen last night off her desk and whistled, heading toward the bathroom.

Vincent turned and looked at Rufus. "Ham or turkey?"

"Turkey." Rufus said, grinning. "But I'll make it. Thanks, though." He stood and walked toward the kitchen.

There was a not-quite-companionable silence as Vincent finished packing a few last minute things. The only things Yuffie had left to pack were the things that required refrigeration; they'd go last.

When he was done, he drank more coffee. Five hours of sleep wasn't really enough, but it would have to do. Then he sat on the end of Yuffie's bed and watched TV, waiting patiently for her to be done in the bathroom so he could use it.

Rufus sat down with a plate containing two sandwiches, and a soda, at the top of the futon, setting his soda on the nightstand and devouring the sandwiches with a ferocity that, frankly, astounded Vincent. He wondered if the younger man had eaten yet today at all.

Yuffie walked out of the bathroom about 30 minutes later, after blow-drying her hair and putting it back into a ponytail, and saw that Vincent was still watching the television...and that Rufus had fallen asleep.

"Poor boy." She said, clucking with her tongue. She covered him up with Vincent's blanket. "Let's let him rest while we get ready to face the day.

"I think that while I shower, you should go get a moving truck from the place you rented the car from." Vincent said, seriously. Yuffie nodded.

"Makes sense. I'll go do that." She grabbed her wallet off the counter and grinned. "I'll be right back."

**- - - - - **

Rufus woke up when Yuffie and Vincent had just finished loading the truck up with Akai's unconscious form.

So that is to say, he got a nice thirty minute nap. And he was pissed about it.

"Why did you let me sleep?" He demanded, groggily, as he walked out to the garage.

"Because you needed it." Yuffie said. She gave Akai a pet on the head, even though he was still asleep, and then shut the door of the truck. "We're on our way over to the lab right now; need a ride?"

"Sure thing." Rufus said. The three of them crammed into the cab of the truck; Vincent was driving, as Yuffie was not sure of her ability to manage a large truck. Yuffie sat between the two of them.

They dropped Akai off at the lab; one of the techs assured them that they'd have Akai moved to the secure Healin location for observation. "He could be really invaluable." The tech said, smiling. "The more bonkers he goes, the more we know when the shit is about to hit the fan. And he should be fine afterward."

They bade Rufus goodbye and headed back to Yuffie's apartment, where they loaded the entirety of her belongings into the truck, except for her motorcycle and the frozen foods (they would come pick those up later). Her furniture, she was leaving at the apartment. "It's a crappy bed and an even crappier futon, a composite desk and a composite television stand. I'll take the TV and the computer, and that's it."

Then they drove to the house, Yuffie giving Vincent directions. They met Mrs. Pruett at the door.

"Oh, wonderful. I was wondering when you would come. I was just preparing to leave." She smiled and handed Yuffie three sets of keys to the house. A rented sedan sat in the driveway. "Rufus has told me what is going on. I will be locking up my villa at Costa del Sol and joining other Wutains at the homeland. There's going to be an evacuation to the Fire Caves of Da-Chao."

Yuffie smiled. "Oh, good. I'm glad everyone will be safe."

Mrs. Pruett inclined her head. "Will you be joining us?"

Yuffie shook her head, sadly. "Wutai is not my home any longer. But I wish everyone there the best."

Mrs. Pruett laughed. "Like father, like daughter. You will return eventually, even if your brother is now heir. But it is good to know that you think of them. You will be taking efforts to reinforce the house?"

Yuffie nodded. "Rufus gave me the name of a good contractor; I'll call him after we move my things into the house."

"Good, good. I'm glad that you will be somewhere safe."

"I was thinking..." Yuffie included Vincent in her look. "That because this place is so huge, I could use the house as an evacuation point. There's enough space in the kitchen to store food for tons of people, and..well, I'd just feel better about using it for something good."

Mrs. Pruett chuckled. "Leviathan led you to me for a purpose, then, young woman." She made a sign that was given in blessing, and then picked up her suitcase and headed toward the car. "May Da-Chao smile upon you, child."

Yuffie smiled and waved goodbye to the woman; she had a feeling she would never see her again.

Then she turned to Vincent, who she handed one of the sets of keys. "Let's get to this, then."

**- - - - - **

They kept the rental truck for the remainder of the day, even though Yuffie had hardly any possessions to move about.

After they had moved the television and computer into the study, they went back to her house and got her frozen goods and motorcycle. While Vincent loaded up the truck, Yuffie called Shinra and made the arrangements to shut off power and water at the apartment and get the power and water at the house set up in her name.

That completed, she went to the land lord on their way out and turned in her keys and last month's rent. The landlady, having been unaware that she was moving, was upset.

"It's not considerate, you know, to just move out with no notice." She said, pursing her lips.

Yuffie shrugged. "You still got your last month's rent out of me. I got the house spur of the moment. I didn't have any warning."

The landlady frowned as Yuffie and Vincent left; Yuffie had never liked her much. She was a grade-A bitch.

"I hope she's one of the stubborn ones who insists nothing is wrong." Yuffie said, under her breath, as they got back into the truck.

"And gets devoured by monsters?" Vincent said, raising his eyebrow and smirking a bit.

"Not devoured. Even monsters have a sense of taste, you know. Just...gnawed on a bit." Yuffie wrinkled her nose at the landlady, who was watching them, as they drove away.

They put the frozen and refrigerated goods away at the house. Yuffie was right; this house could set up shop for a hundred people for two weeks, easily. There was a walk-in refrigerator and two walk-in freezers. Yuffie clapped her hands at that. "One for food, one for smokes!" She exclaimed, happily. Vincent sighed.

The pantry was a great cement block with a metal lining. It was at least as big as the freezers and refrigerator combined, with shelves lining the walls and set up in aisles along the inside. Rufus had said that the Pruetts often entertained a lot of guests, but just how many had been beyond Yuffie's sphere of imagination until she saw the size of the pantry. Vincent was a little awed too, even if he didn't show it – most restaurants didn't have such a large storage space for food. It was like a miniature grocery store.

Yuffie called the contractor then, standing in the kitchen and taking down notes on what Rufus had discussed with the man, and the price. She set an appointment for him to come do the job in three days time; just after he'd done Rufus' place.

"Okay, now the fun part." Yuffie said, smiling as she hung up. She ran up to the master bedroom and turned to Vincent. "This one's mine. You get to pick one of your own."

Vincent realized, at that point, that he was not going to be going to sleep to the sound of Yuffie's breathing that night. It was a sound that had been his constant companion for upwards of a month, and it bothered him greatly that he was going to miss it.

He chose the room next to her.

"Wow, it's nearly as big as mine." Yuffie said. And it was; A large, king-sized four-poster bed sat against the wall, and a small library setup (no books were in it, however; Mrs. Pruett was a great collector of books and had taken her collection with her to Costa del Sol. Yuffie planned on remedying the emptiness as soon as possible) with a comfortable leather chair and an end table was in one corner. In the other corner, a small office area with a desk and desk lamp was arranged. It suited Vincent, who had not had a space to call his own since his time in the Turks.

A door in the corner led to a bathroom; it was fairly grand for a bathroom in a guest room, but not nearly as grand as Yuffie's bathroom. A search of the premises led them to a cache of linens; more than enough for the entire houses' beds and bathrooms. They decided to leave those there for guests and the upcoming emergency, and then Yuffie declared that she must go shopping for her own furniture.

They took the truck to a nice department store. Before they went in, Yuffie checked her communique for her bank account balance. It still had...a lot.

"I'm used to having a lot of money, but hanging out with you added 16 million gil to my account." Yuffie said, shaking her head. "I'm not used to having that much money in my own right. I mean, when Cloud divvied up what we'd all made after Meteor, it was a lot. Several million. And I'd earned that. But having...that many commas in my account balance. It's just odd." She smiled. "Just wait until I get married, then I get my dowry. Dad's got that all set up. It's mostly materia, but there's a couple million waiting around for that, too."

Vincent didn't much like thinking about Yuffie getting married, so instead he wondered how much money was in his account. He had barely touched it in the past thirty years.

...Probably a lot.

He voiced this aloud to Yuffie as they walked into the house. "I should probably check that at some point." He said, furrowing his brow. "I have not checked my bank account balance since..."

"Since Hojo?" Yuffie said, cocking her head. Vincent nodded.

"Wow. That's a lotta interest." She smiled. "We can check when I'm done here. I think there's a bank on the way back."

Vincent knew the account was still there; as Yuffie had mentioned, Cloud had divided the money everyone had made after the Meteor incident up between them, nine ways – Aeris' money went to her mother. Cloud and Tifa's share now resided in their joint bank account, and it funded their home and lifestyle whenever Tifa's bar didn't make enough money that month, or when Cloud's weapon shop didn't raise enough in sales. Barret had put the money away for Marlene to go to college, which she was nearly ready to do; he'd also decided, at Marlene's insistence, to pay Denzel's way through college, seeing as the money had nearly tripled since he'd put it in the bank. Whatever was left over after tuition and book costs, he planned on saving to give to Marlene after she graduated. Vincent had never seen a man so dedicated to his daughter.

Reeve had used his money to kick-start the WRO, which Rufus then took up constant funding for. Cid used it to finance airship research, which he and the WRO directly benefited from. He'd also taken a small share and built Shera and him a bigger house, for their family. And he'd bought stock in Marlboro.

Red had put his share into the coffers of Cosmo Canyon, keeping only a small part to himself, which he used for his weapons and armor purchases, and for any other basic necessities he required.

16-year-old Yuffie had put hers into the bank and promptly forgot about it. Money was only good because it could buy materia. So when she got old enough to appreciate the fact that she could not always eke out a living in the wilderness, the money was waiting for her – with interest. Her college education had not even cost a million gil, so most of it was still there.

Cloud had deposited the money into Vincent's bank account, and had told him as such, but Vincent had not really worried about it. Hearing from Yuffie that it had been several million gil, his interest was piqued; Vincent Valentine, a millionaire? Not that he was about to go out and start living a millionaire's lifestyle, but the idea of having enough money to live comfortably on for the rest of his days (which, it seemed, may just go on forever) was a pleasant one.

"Okay, I'm glad we have a huge truck." Yuffie said. She smirked. "I plan on outfitting the whole house today. Good thing most of it's already full, huh?"

Yuffie made the salesman she chose beam in pleasure at the commission he was going to receive. She bought a bed for herself, a lot of couches and chairs for the various rooms in the house, several large tables, coffee tables and end tables, a lot of professional cooking equipment (the kitchen itself was an amazing professional kitchen, but had nothing in it to prepare food with) and a large stock of linens and towels for the two of them. She refused to let Vincent buy his own things, as she reasoned they'd just stay at her house if he ever left.

"Not that I'm gonna kick you out or anything." She said, smiling and cocking her head. "It's nice having you around, Vince. It gets boring, sometimes, being alone."

After she bought all of that, she decided she needed some more electronics. She got a few televisions for the places in the house that might need them, and a laptop computer for in her bedroom. Then she bought a couple of stereo systems that would hook up to the MP3 player in her phone, but also had CD players in them. She was intent on providing whoever evacuated to her house with a fairly pleasant stay.

She insisted that Vincent purchase another cellular phone and a communique. That, he had to visit the PHS booth for, so they could be activated to his account. He had to take care of the little hassle of his account being in the negative for about two months, and then set it up to withdraw automatically from his account every month so that it wouldn't happen again.

Yuffie showed him how to look up his account balance on his communique, and he nearly passed out.

"Wow, Vincent, you have even more money than I do!" She said, her eyes wide.

"Where...did it all _come_ from?" He asked, stunned.

"Here, you can check your history right here." She showed him which icon to click on. It was a detailed account history; scrolling down, he looked. There was interest, of course, paid out every quarter, and that there was the deposit Cloud had made; about ten million gil in total. And before that, it was just a bunch of interest for 23 years. Right before the interest started, there was his last meager paycheck, and then...

"SHINRA SEVERANCE CHECK." He clicked on it.

Shinra had paid him 30 million gil in severance. He figured a great part of that was because of his mental suffering. Best to preempt the lawsuit. Thirty years of interest on thirty million gil...well, it amounted to quite a bit.

"I think...I need to sit down." He said.

They were out at the truck. The electronics and linens would fit, but they'd had to hire out a truck and driver from the department store to deliver the furniture. Vincent sat down on the end of the truck, suddenly lightheaded. Yuffie sat next to him. To give her credit, she said nothing, just sat there watching the crew from the store load her gigantic purchase into the truck.

Vincent went back to the main bank page on his communique and looked at the account balance again.

Yuffie nudged him. "Imagine, Vinnie. You were slumming it for how long? Living in caves and whatever you happened to find to sleep in for ten years...and you had over a hundred million gil sitting in your bank account."

"I wish I'd known that." Vincent said. He leaned against the side of the truck. It was quite a shock to be confronted with the fact that he was a multi-millionaire.

"If it makes you feel any better, Vince, Rufus has at least ten times that in _his_ bank account." Yuffie said, smiling.

Vincent chuckled halfheartedly. "I suppose it does." He said.

They sat there in silence until the foreman came over and told them that the truck and driver were ready. A moving crew from the store was also en route, for a small fee that Yuffie nodded acceptance of.

"C'mon, Vince. We have to go play adult now." She smiled, gently. There was not a jealous bone in her body, in this regard; She neither coveted nor needed the large sum of money in Vincent's bank account.

"Yeah." Vincent said. He gave his head a shake and stood up. "I guess this means that I can afford to get some new clothes."

Yuffie let out a peal of laughter as they got into the cab of the truck. "You'd better, Vincent."

**- - - - - **

Vincent paid a cleaning service to come in and clean everything and put sheets and blankets down on all of the beds in the house – he insisted to Yuffie that it was only right that he pitch in, considering the fact that he had to stay annoyingly close to her nowadays to keep his sanity. Every bed was a king-sized bed, with three large pillows, and there were eighteen rooms to do. Yuffie also had them supply all of the bathrooms (for there were more of those than bedrooms) with towels of various sizes and soaps and other toiletries that she'd purchased.

The moving men moved everything into place at Yuffie's direction, while Vincent carried armload after armload of linens and towels into the two of their rooms (both of which the cleaning crew were told to stay out of). While he was doing that, Yuffie was unpacking and storing all of her kitchen supplies.

So it happened that by the time night fell, everything was in it's place. Yuffie and Vincent had made their own beds and set up their individual rooms to their liking while the moving men and cleaning service finished up. Yuffie tipped each person with a hundred gil note, but Vincent had given it to her – his mother was a great chef, but for the first part of her years, in culinary school, she had survived on tips alone, and Vincent knew that it was only proper to give a good tip. Especially now that he could afford it.

"It feels like home." Yuffie said, smiling.

"It is home, Yuffie." Vincent reminded her. Her smile grew.

"Yeah. And now I'm starving." She said, flopping backwards into a chair. "And too tired to actually make something. Let's go get something to eat, Vince. Hey, we're rich now, right? We can afford to go somewhere to eat."

Vincent snorted a bit, which made Yuffie open one of her eyes and peer up at him. He shrugged.

"I am alright with the idea of going out to eat, Yuffie. But we must make a few stops first, and I am choosing the restaurant." He smirked and turned around, leaving the room.

Yuffie stared after him in confusion. Damn, Vincent could be weird sometimes.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie was adamant. She was not going to let Vincent drive her motorcycle.

"I am driving." He insisted. "It's a _surprise_." He sounded almost like a small child unveiling a mother's day present.

"Not my motorcycle, you aren't." Yuffie insisted. "That's too much bike for you to handle, Vince."

There was a smirk on his face and a slight gleam in his eyes – a challenge?

"Okay, Vince..." Yuffie relented. "But if you crash it, your ass is grass, buster."

The battle won, they mounted the motorcycle and took off. Vincent had never had much experience handling vehicles such as the Harley Davidson models, but he knew bikes; they were part of the standard training for all Turks. He handled Yuffie's bike well.

Yuffie was surprised to stop at a high-end clothing store and boutique.

"What the hell?" She asked him, getting off the bike. "I look fine."

Vincent looked at her. "Not for where we're going." There was a bit of a smile in his eyes. "Trust me."

They walked in and Yuffie was startled to have someone walk up to them and ask them what they needed. Vincent handled it well.

"We both need to be attired for Holy." Vincent said. That made absolutely no sense to Yuffie.

The attendant, however, seemed to know what Vincent meant. Her eyes widened. "Yes sir! I'll get our tailor out to take your measurements."

What they went through the next thirty minutes was the oddest thing Yuffie had ever dealt with. The two of them were poked, prodded, measured, poked again with needles, and generally gawked at. When they were done, Vincent was wearing a tuxedo – it looked great on him, of course, only because he was so at home in the attire. Yuffie was wearing a black, gauzy dress that flared out and ended at her knees and was topped with a tight black leather corset top that pushed her breasts up higher than she'd ever thought they'd go. They were almost detached from her. Her shoulders and chest above her breasts were bare, and a sort of sheer black cape fell from the back of the corset. Black leather gloves that fit so tightly it was like a second skin went up just past her elbows.

Then they were descended upon by a variety of makeup and hair stylists. At this point, Vincent and her were separated; a very flamboyant hair stylist was attending him and insisted that he needed space to work. Vincent eyed Yuffie and she rolled her eyes before the man took him into a separate room. Yuffie dealt with two women, one older and one younger. The younger woman was fixing her hair up into a pile on her head, and the older woman was pasting various makeups on her face. Yuffie, who rarely wore makeup, felt as if she was suffocating.

When the two of them were finished, they were ushered in front of a large mirror. Yuffie barely recognized them; her hair was pinned up to her head in a shiny, elegant hairdo and her face had been subtly enhanced. She didn't look at all like herself; she was sophisticated and beautiful, and a little bit awed at that fact. She reached out and touched her image lightly with her fingertips, which had also been painted up.

Vincent was wearing a plain tuxedo, but his hairstylist had made his hair almost look like a mane. Not that it normally didn't, but the effect was gorgeous and he smirked at her as she stared at his reflection. He had adamantly refused makeup; she'd heard it in the other room, and also the obviously gay attendant's acceptance of the fact with a "Oh, well, your complexion is _gorgeous_ anyway."

Vincent would not let her see the bill for the services that had been rendered.

Then, to her surprise, he drove them back to the house. A black sedan was in the driveway; for a moment Yuffie thought that Mrs. Pruett was back, but Vincent held out the door to her and smirked.

"Where, exactly, are we going?" Yuffie asked. She was clutching a tiny handbag that had come with the purse, and it only had enough space to hold her phone and identification, and a pack of cigarettes and lighter.

"Holy." Vincent said. That made as much sense as it had back at the boutique, so she just sighed and struggled into the car.

They sat in the car while the driver took them through a lot of twists and turns throughout the town of Kalm. Vincent began explaining.

"Holy is the new name of the restaurant my mother used to work at." Vincent said. "It is...very nice. An acceptable place to celebrate the acquisition of a new mansion." He smiled at her.

"Vinnie, this is all very...extravagant, but isn't it a little..."

Vincent smirked as Yuffie trailed off at "expensive."

"Yuffie, you deserve to be taken to a nice place, for once, so that you know what you are missing the next time someone takes you on a date." He said, gently.

Yuffie laughed. "I don't think I'll be going on many dates. Rufus is the only one who's interested, and...he's not really my type."

Vincent eyed her. "You are aware of his..."

"Infatuation?" Yuffie smiled. "He's a great friend. I don't want to hurt his feelings. I'm kind of hoping he'll just fall for someone else. Maybe Cally. They get along great."

Vincent looked out the window. She got the idea that even though he had just realized the girl was his sister, he was going to be very ...protective of her. It was adorable.

Then he looked back at her. "You are a beautiful young woman, Yuffie, and I have no doubt in my mind that a day will come when you will be assaulted with propositions." He smiled. "I think it is a good thing if you know what you are missing if they take you to any lesser place. You don't deserve less."

Yuffie was flattered, and she had no words to respond to Vincent with. She smiled her thanks and looked out the window on her side.

Vincent thought she was beautiful? A smile played on her lips. Compliments didn't come from Vincent very often. They were the kind of thing that one treasured, simply for their rarity.

"Can I smoke in here?" Yuffie blurted out.

"I don't see why not." Vincent said. "They will just clean the smoke out of the upholstery at the end of the night anyway."

Yuffie wondered that Vincent didn't seem to be upset at the concept of anyone smoking; he'd never chastised her or Cid or Barret for their habits, as everyone else had. She asked him.

"My father and mother both smoked." Vincent said. "I suppose the only reason I never started is because Turks were required to be in peak physical condition. Although that never seemed to stop Reno."

Yuffie giggled and lit a cigarette, which looked unfamiliar in her manicured, delicate-looking hands. The older woman had been her manicurist and she'd wrung her hands in horror at the condition of Yuffie's fingertips, which had been callused and chipped from years of ninja practice and target shooting. It had taken a full ten minutes of conditioning for the woman to grudgingly give approval of them.

She rolled the window down a crack, careful to not open it enough to mess with her hair; although, she was fairly certain that it had enough pins and hairspray in it to not budge through another attack from Meteor.

"We are here." Vincent said, a few minutes later. Yuffie carefully put out her cigarette in the provided ashtray, and was about to open the door when the chauffeur opened it for her.

You know, considering that she was a freakin' princess, she was unused to all of this. She graciously granted the man a smile as she stepped out, careful not to expose herself to the world outside.

Vincent had managed to escape the confines of the car first, and was waiting for her. He held out his hand, politely, and she took it. Really, this was too much...but it was kind of fun, in the way that every woman had dreamed about something like this as a child.

They were escorted in by a sprightly older man dressed in a tux similar to Vincent's, once Vincent told him he had a reservation ("In the smoking section." Vincent had said, glancing at Yuffie). The man seated them and then a few minutes later came over and asked them if they would like some wine.

Vincent ordered a bottle, blatantly covering the price list from Yuffie's view.

"Ah, very good, sir." The man said, smiling. He returned with the wine and Vincent made a big show about smelling it and then tasting it before nodding his approval.

The man walked away and Yuffie nudged Vincent in the ribs. "I want the wine guy's job."

Vincent chuckled. "The 'wine guy's' title is maître de. He probably makes as much as you do as a princess."

Yuffie giggled. "You mean, nothing?"

Vincent shook his head and smiled.

They spent a long time at the restaurant; Yuffie had never had such rich food before and she adored it, wondering if it was possible to replicate such tender results at home.

"The secret of tender meat is to let it season for a little bit longer." Vincent admitted. "Most people don't want to know that, because essentially it's the beginning stages of rot."

"Ewwww!" Yuffie said, giggling. She was a little bit drunk, as they were on the tail end of their second bottle of wine.

After dessert, which Vincent passed on but Yuffie devoured (it was a delicious, fluffy mousse served in an equally delicious chocolate cup, topped with fresh sweetened whipped cream), they sat there, drinking wine and making conversation. Yuffie felt, for the first time in her life, like a real princess. She cocked her head at Vincent and smiled.

"I think it is time to go home." Vincent said, taking in the restaurant. "I believe they are nearing closing time, and we don't want to keep them waiting. He stood and helped her out of her seat; the only indication that Vincent had drank too much was a slight waver as he rose from his seat.

Vincent paid their bill and they waited outside while the valet called for the sedan. The ride home was a blur for both of them; Vincent rarely imbibed alcohol at all, but he'd stopped paying attention to what he was drinking and of course, the maître de kept filling his glass.

When the sedan dropped them off, Vincent (very composed for someone as gone in wine as he was) tipped the driver well and escorted Yuffie back into the house.

"I'm tired, Vinnie." Yuffie said, leaning her head into him. Her eyes were half-closed.

Vincent let out a small sigh and carefully picked Yuffie up and took her to her room. By the time he set her on her bed, she was asleep.

He smiled and took off her shoes (they looked to be very uncomfortable, a sandal-heel hybrid, but she had not complained) and covered her up with her blanket. Her first sleep in her new room would be a deep one.

Vincent very carefully navigated the hallway to his room, where he removed shoes and tux. The tailor had insisted that he wear a pair of boxers with the tux, or else...something. There was a reason for it, and the tailor had explained it very well, but he couldn't remember it.

He made a mental note to never drink that much wine again.

Still in the boxers and socks, he crawled into his bed. It was comfortable, much more so than the futon had been. He fell asleep still missing Yuffie's light snore.

**- - - - - **

Vincent was awoken a few hours later by a strong urge to urinate. He blindly stumbled to the bathroom, hitting, in the process, his library chair and one of his discarded shoes. He swore and headed toward the vague outline of the bathroom door.

He didn't bother with the lights, simply found the toilet and did his business, yawning loudly while doing so, before stumbling back out to his room. He did not hit his chair, but he did trip over his shoe, on the way back.

He climbed into bed with the relief of a drowning man being pulled onto a ship. Then he rolled over and came face to face with Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Hiya." She whispered. She'd changed into a camisole and a pair of pajama bottoms, but she still looked beautiful; her makeup had not smeared and she hadn't bothered trying to take her hair down yet. The task would doubtless take a few hours.

He blinked. Vincent recognized that he was still a little drunk, but he was fairly certain he'd have recognized it if Yuffie were in the bed with him when he woke up.

"I heard you swear from my room." She said. "I woke up to pee and I couldn't go back to sleep. I'm used to having you around." She smiled.

Vincent blinked. Yuffie giggled.

And then she kissed him. It wasn't just a little chaste kiss on the cheek, either. She kissed him, full on the lips, and pried his mouth open with her tongue.

As in love with Yuffie as Vincent was, there was no way that under normal circumstances he would have tolerated this, for several reasons. In Vincent's mind, he was not good enough for Yuffie. He would never have thought of pursuing her in any way, despite his love for her. He was too old, and quite a monster.

Also, Yuffie was drunk, and that would be taking advantage of her inebriated state, something Vincent wouldn't do with anyone, but especially not Yuffie.

But Vincent was also drunk, and his synapses were not firing off in the right direction. So he meekly submitted to her kiss. Their tongues clashed sloppily, and Vincent reached over and drew her closer to him. His hands trailed up her side but never did he stray into inappropriate territory, as much as she seemed to want him to. He had that much of his wits about him.

She glided her hands over his chest, which, of course, was muscular and well-defined. Their whirlwind kiss deepened as Yuffie moaned slightly at the back of her throat.

Things were cut short, however, as Vincent chose then to pass out. Well, he didn't choose, but his body did.

Yuffie stared at him and then giggled, cuddling closer and letting her head rest against his chest. She soon followed suit.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie awoke the next morning to the unfamiliar touch of flesh against her face. She opened her eyes and looked up. Vincent had his arm draped around her, and he was snoring slightly, with his mouth only slightly agape.

Her eyes widened as she recalled last night. What, exactly, was wrong with her? Sneaking in here in the middle of night and making out with _Vincent Valentine_?

On the other hand, it had been possibly the best makeout session she'd ever had. She sent a small prayer of gratitude to Leviathan that it hadn't gone further; that would have been awkward.

Carefully, she extracted herself from under Vincent's lax arm and tiptoed out of the room. If she was lucky, Vincent wouldn't remember a thing. He'd been much more gone than her last night.

Then again, he'd never gone round for round with Cid before. She had the upper hand.

The sun was shining in the windows of the manor. It was very quiet. She felt that there should, perhaps, be more going on in such a huge place.

Yuffie quietly went downstairs and set coffee brewing. While she waited, she started slowly picking apart her hairstyle. There were more pins in there than...well, anything. She'd amassed quite a pile by the time Vincent finally stumbled down about twenty minutes later (in only a pair of pants...it was like he was forcing her to remember last night...), and she wasn't even finished.

Vincent had never been much of a morning person, but Vincent with a hangover hated mornings, and Yuffie could tell. She stopped pulling her hair apart and silently handed him a cup of coffee.

He sat at the table in the dining room; it was a particularly nice wooden one, and he was glaring at a grain of wood when Yuffie came out with her own cup of coffee, and a cup full of the pins she'd pulled out.

While he sat there, sobering up, she pulled and yanked at her hair, which was very stubborn about giving up the pins. Slowly but surely, her hair started to look normal again. She stopped once more to refill both her and Vincent's cups, but within the span of thirty minutes, she'd managed to get the majority of them out, and her head feeling normal.

"There is a pin about halfway up the back side of your head." Vincent said, grumpily. "It appears to be the last one."

"Thanks." She said. She squished up her face in concentration as she searched for it. Finding it, she dropped it into the cup and smirked at him.

Vincent didn't seem to have any recollections of the night before. For that, she was grateful. It would have been awkward otherwise.

After a while, Yuffie rose and began making breakfast. She didn't know about Vincent, but she liked a large breakfast after a night of drinking. Settled the stomach.

"Hungry?" She asked, quietly, so as not to disturb him very badly. She glanced at him over the bar that separated the kitchen from the dining room.

"I should probably eat." Vincent admitted.

With that, Yuffie whipped up a huge breakfast. She'd probably put most of it away, too. Scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, pancakes, toast, and hash browns. Mmmmm.

Vincent's portion was decidedly smaller than hers, but he did eat every bite; whether it was because he was actually hungry or because he felt guilty that Yuffie had cooked so much, she had no idea.

"Yuffie..." Vincent began, and Yuffie's heart skipped a beat. Did he remember?

"I..have been thinking about Rufus' offer." He said, slowly. She calmed down and shoved a piece of sausage in her mouth, nodding at him to continue. "I think that it would be wise if I took him up on it. It would be regrettable if I were to lose control over him in the midst of the alignment."

Yuffie chewed a bit more and swallowed. "I think that's a good idea. We'd have to drive out to Healin."

Vincent nodded.

"We can go today." She said. Vincent coughed in an amazing display of flying coffee.

"Today?" He asked, after he'd cleaned himself up with the napkin Yuffie thoughtfully passed his way. She kept her face somber, although he had a feeling she was trying very hard not to laugh at him.

"Today. There's a big bulk outlet in Healin, and while they're running their tests I can go rent a truck and stock up for the alignment. On food and stuff." She explained. "And their flier says they're having a sale on bottled water and Easy Mac. That's important to have on hand." She grinned impishly.

He smiled weakly and finished his coffee.

Yuffie cleaned up the mess she'd made making breakfast; the concept of owning a dishwasher was foreign to her, as she'd never had one, but she piled the dishes in and set it to clean.

Then she announced that she was heading upstairs to take a bath. Vincent carefully kept all traces of that image from his mind as she scampered away.

Vincent had the feeling that something important had happened last night, but he could not remember what, for the life of him. He didn't remember anything after falling asleep in bed last night, though, so he tried not to think about it.

Instead, he rinsed out the coffee cups and set them on the counter, and headed upstairs to take a bath of his own. All that he had left clean were socks and underwear, and his old clothes. Shrugging, he stripped and set the shower to the temperature he liked.

While in the shower, he could hear Yuffie splashing about in her new bathtub, which he knew she liked. She was singing a popular love song at the top of her lungs and doing whatever it was she did during baths, which Vincent exerted the strictest amount of mental control to keep images of from floating into his mind.

He failed miserably. An image of Yuffie, sitting in the middle of the Leviathan bath tub, dripping wet, forced itself into his mind. His mind, apparently, had a great imagination, because it continued from there, mentally watching her scrub with soap and sit there for a few moments, enjoying the temperature of the bath. Covered in suds.

He shook his head. He was clearly a dirty old man. Imagining a woman who was under half his age bathe. No matter how good she looked naked, dripping with water, it was just perverted.

Although he actually had no idea what she looked like naked, her skintight clothing really left nothing to the imagination except for details that his brain filled in for him, such as the color of the aureola around her nipples, and whether or not she shaved off her pubic hair.

That did it. Vincent was aroused, and there was no getting around it. He could still hear her singing in the other room. Vincent rarely masturbated, but between the images floating around in his head and the strident tones of Yuffie's voice cascading around his person, something had to be done, or else he was going to just have to turn the water to cold and wait for that to solve the problem. Frankly, that idea was a lot less pleasing.

Vincent reached down and grasped himself, clamping his lips firmly shut while he focused on what was surely going on in the other room. Slowly at first, but gaining in speed, he started moving his hand, sliding it up and down his length as he imagined Yuffie running a soapy washcloth over her now larger breasts – he had noted that she'd gained quite the figure in the past few years. They weren't quite as large as Tifa's, but they were close.

He inadvertently cried out as he came, his seed spilling onto the porcelain and mixing into the water around his feet. There was a pause in the singing next door and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand, eyes widening in shock.

"Vince, you alright?" Yuffie sounded concerned.

"Yes." He said, gruffly. If only she knew. He felt some sort of enhancement was required. "...I dropped the shampoo on my toe."

"Oh. Alright." She went back to singing.

He made quick work of washing; Yuffie had purchased some fairly nice shampoos and conditioners the day before and it ran through his hair fast, washing out the styling product from last night. When he stepped out he towel-dried and shrugged into his underwear and pants before walking out of his bathroom. He felt ridiculous in a towel turban.

Sighing, he padded out into the hallway and knocked on Yuffie's door. She was still singing and didn't answer.

"Yuffie!" He called.

"I'm still in the bathroom, Vinnie! Come in so I can hear you!" She called. He winced and opened the door. Her bathroom door was closed.

"Where is your hair dryer?"

"It's in here. Hang on a sec." There was the sound of shuffling around and then Yuffie opened the door, clad only in an overlarge bath sheet that was wrapped around her bosom and tucked in under her armpit. Her hair was dripping and she'd obviously gotten out of her bath to give him the thing. His eyes widened and he glanced away.

She giggled. "You look cute in a turban, Vince. Here." She displayed the hair dryer. "I'll need it when you're done."

"Of course." He said, holding his hand out and refusing to search for it. She rolled her eyes, placed it into his hand and closed the bathroom door.

Vincent quietly went back to his room and closed the door, leaning against it and closing his eyes.

At least she had a large towel. If there had been so much as a peek of flesh, he didn't know how he'd have been able to respond properly.

He resolutely went into the bathroom, thoroughly drying his hair and adorning it with his head band. It felt odd after having not worn it in several days, but it did keep his hair out of his eyes. Then he put his cloak on; it was like an old friend welcoming him home. The only thing missing was his gauntlet; he still felt slightly naked without it on, and wondered which cave he'd left it in. Perhaps he'd go find it some day. Then he put on socks and his boots.

Once he was finished, he wound up the cord to the hair dryer, making a mental note to buy himself one to preempt this sort of disaster in the future, and walked out to the hallway, where he knocked on Yuffie's bedroom door. She answered, decently clothed in a tank top and some pajama bottoms. Her hair was up in a towel.

"Whoa." Yuffie said, stepping back. "Sorry, I wasn't used to seeing you in that getup. You startled me." She took the hair dryer. "Thanks."

She didn't close her bedroom door, but he didn't take that as an invitation to come in and watch her primp for the day ahead. Instead, he headed down toward the kitchen, pouring himself another cup of coffee and watching the view out the back door. It led to a grand patio, with a large stone hot tub and a pool, before spreading out for the acres and acres of forest that surrounded the house. Rufus had been right; Vincent could leave and wander for at least a mile before anyone would be able to see him. It was a nice thought.

Yuffie walked downstairs clad in a black miniskirt, thigh-high black leather platform boots that laced up the side (the cords in the lacing were gold), and a deep red corset-style tank top shirt. She'd left her hair down, and it flowed down to her waist.

Vincent's eyes widened.

"I'm going shopping, Vinnie. I have to look my best, I can get discounts that way." She smiled. "Plus, look, we match. Grrrr." She accepted Vincent's proffered cup of coffee and they sat there in a companionable silence, watching the back yard while they finished.

"It's still weird, knowing I have a house this big." She smiled at him as she rinsed her cup out, and then held her hand out for his.

"It will come in handy in the future, I'm sure." Vincent said, absently. He was more focused on not glancing down at her cleavage while they spoke. He failed.

"If I can get Vincent Valentine to stare at my chest, I think I may be able to wing 25 percent off!" She laughed at the uncomfortable look on his face and picked up the black purse she used when she wasn't wearing something she could sling belts across. "I called Rufus, he's going to meet us at headquarters and go with us to Healin."

Vincent nodded acceptance of that fact. He was trying to figure out how Yuffie was going to be able to drive her motorcycle wearing...that.

"You'll have to drive, unless you want me to flash half of Kalm." She said, handing him the keys. "Your cape will protect my virtue!" She laughed again and headed outside.

"It's not a cape." He said, automatically, as he locked the door of the manor.

"Vincent Valentine. Caped crusader." Yuffie was obviously in a good mood this morning.

And it was morning – just barely. Vincent glanced down at his new phone. It was 11:30.

They boarded the bike – Yuffie took a part of his cape and modestly spread it over her legs, and then put her arms around his waist – and took off.

Now that it was daytime, riding Yuffie's motorcycle was a little exhilarating. Even moreso knowing that her crotch was pressed up against his back. Great.

They pulled up to Shinra headquarters and Rufus was there, waiting for them with a bike of his own. It was not nearly as powerful, but it was more sleek looking.

Vincent could see an internal struggle playing upon the President's face as he dealt with the fact that Yuffie was currently clinging to Vincent's back. He resisted the urge to smirk and instead regarded him impassively.

"I need to explain to you the nature of the tests they need to perform in Healin." Rufus said, once he'd gotten over Yuffie and Vincent's close proximity. "They need to do all of the standard stuff, of course – x rays, blood tests, et cetera. But they also need..."

"To see me transform. I gathered as much." Vincent said. He glanced upward. "You will have quite a while to wait."

"I don't think so." Rufus said. "The monsters have been getting a little more crazy, and Akai went nuts when he woke up last night. They had to sedate him again. I think that as soon as Yuffie gets out of your sight, there's a good chance that Galian Beast will take over."

Vincent was obviously not happy with this concept, but he nodded acceptance.

"They have a special observation chamber set up for you...There's an unbreakable one-way mirror, for observation purposes. It's made of concrete and metal, and there's only one way in. The door is several feet thick and only opens from one side. It's like a bank vault. Do you think it's enough?"

Vincent snorted. "I certainly hope so."

"Well, then, let's be off." Rufus glanced down at his bike as he mounted it. "You'll probably have to go a little slower than you'd like, I don't think mine can keep up with Yuffie's."

Vincent nodded. Yuffie grinned and leaned over his shoulder.

"My bike is my mental penis. It's my way of proving I'm better than all of the guys. It's got balls."

Vincent blinked. "Excuse me?"

She giggled. "Just drive, vampy."

**- - - - - **

Healin Lodge had grown since Vincent had last been there. It wasn't exactly a metropolis, but it was fairly busy. All of the buildings were made of industrial-grade materials, as it was an entirely Shinra-funded city.

Rufus led them through the streets to a short, squat building. They parked and pulled themselves off of the bikes; it had been a harrowing hour-long drive. Rufus was right; the monsters were getting bold. They'd been almost attacked several times, and Vincent had, halfway through the ride, tersely asked Yuffie for her handgun.

It had taken ten dead monsters before they got the point and left the trio alone.

"Come on in." Rufus said, tersely. He'd gotten a glimpse of Yuffie leaning into Vincent on the ride over and had been basically short with everyone since then, despite the fact that Vincent had literally saved their lives.

Yuffie hummed the Batman theme song as she climbed off the bike – Vincent politely waited for her to go first, so she could use his cloak to cover herself if need be. "Duh duh duh duh – VIN-CENT! Caped crusader!" She did a little jig before hopping up and following Rufus up the stairs.

Vincent watched her jump the stairs two at a time, mesmerized, before he shook his head and got off the bike. He followed them.

Rufus swiped his Shinra ID card to allow them access to the building, and opened the door, indicating that they should precede him.

They were met with a middle-aged woman who Rufus introduced as Quistis Trepe, the lead researcher in Healin. She was a studious looking woman, with long blond hair clipped to the back of her head. Her bangs, too short to reach the clip, hung in front of her face.

"Pleased to meet you." Quistis said, nodding at the group. "I've been particularly interested in your case, Mr. Valentine, ever since you brought in the reports my aunt made about your condition."

"Aunt?" Vincent asked.

"Ms. Trepe is the niece of Lucrecia Crescent, and was her apprentice as a teenager. They lost contact when Ms. Crescent was reassigned to the Nibelheim project." Rufus explained. Vincent's face remained blank.

"I believe I have found a way to extract the demons from your body." Quistis said, gesturing for the group to follow her down the hall. She took a place near Vincent, so she could explain to him. "But before I can guarantee that, I will have to run some tests."

"Rufus explained as much." Vincent said.

"I think that the only test that will be painful...will be the transformation." Quistis said. "Rufus tells me that Ms. Kisaragi seems to be your block."

Vincent nodded.

"Odd." Quistis said. "I wonder...Anyway, we will have to remove Ms. Kisaragi from your presence. I hope that doesn't bother you."

"I don't want her anywhere near me if I'm going to be transforming." Vincent said, quietly. "Nor anyone else."

"Understandable." Quistis still had a quizzical look on her face. "It's just so weird. You don't act like lovers at all...and everything I've read says that the block is usually a lover."

Vincent blinked and stopped, turning to face her. "Excuse me?"

"Maybe I mistranslated it." Quistis said, smiling briefly. "I apologize for my brashness. But it is true; in cases of human beings being inhabited by demons such as yours – and you aren't the only one who has had such things done to him – their blocks, the one who keeps them from transforming uncontrollably, is usually, as far as I can tell, a spouse or love partner. I think I must have just mistranslated it, is all. I'm sure it needn't be a lover." She turned and continued down the hallway.

Rufus made an odd sound. Vincent turned to look at him and Yuffie; Rufus looked like he was going to be ill; Yuffie had an odd look on her face, although she didn't seem embarrassed. Contemplative, more.

Vincent turned to follow the scientist.

"Anyway, we've prepared a special area for your transformation, but first I'd like to get the other tests out of the way. Seeing as this needs to be done before you transform, I'm going to ask Ms. Kisaragi to stay on hand, just in case." Quistis glanced back at Yuffie, who nodded.

"In here, then." Quistis led the trio into a room. It was a medical examination room, complete with a combination MRI and CAT scanning machine, an X-Ray machine, and a table with what looked like torture devices.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to change into this." Quistis said, giving him an apologetic glance. She pointed toward a curtained changing area. "It's just a pair of light cotton pants. I will have to affix some electrodes to monitor your vital signs later, and trust me when I say that you don't want the adhesive on your clothing."

Vincent grunted and went behind the curtain. He was very aware of the fact that he didn't have much in the way of privacy as he carefully stripped to nothing but socks and pulled the cotton pants on. At least they were somewhat dignified – a dark blue pair of hospital pants with a draw string. He stepped out, feeling distinctly exposed.

To his relief, Rufus had left during his absence. To his dismay, there were now two women staring at him.

He was so, so, so glad he'd gotten the whole sexual tension thing taken care of earlier. Had he not, he would be in big trouble right now. Yuffie smirked at him, almost as if she knew what he was thinking. His face was impassive, though, so she must have just thought he was uncomfortable being half naked.

Quistis gestured for him to lay on the examining table and did all of the normal things; she took his pulse, temperature, and looked down his throat and ears. Yuffie giggled when the woman stuck a thermometer in his mouth.

"You look like a little kid, Vince."

He glared at her around the thermometer, which made her laugh harder.

After the basic things, the results of which Quistis jotted down into a file on a clipboard, she asked him to relax while she drew some blood for analysis. She then drew a syringe.

Vincent _lost_ it.

Yuffie later told him that he'd jumped off the examining table and thrown it across the room. Then he dashed toward the door to the examining room, knocking everything out of the way in his haste to get the hell out of there.

All he remembered was that he had an undeniable urge to _leave_, and then he ran. When he came to, Yuffie had launched herself at him, catching him at the midsection in an impressive tackle, and then pinned him down by sitting on his stomach and holding his arms above his head. He found himself impressed with her strength.

While she held him down, he was struggling. Meanwhile, Quistis took advantage of his distracted state to take the blood she needed, forestalling the need to repeat this scenario.

Vincent suddenly ceased struggling and looked up at Yuffie, quizically. He had suddenly noticed that she was sitting on his bare flesh, with nothing but thin cotton panties separating them. It was distracting.

"May I get up?" He asked, politely.

"Are you going to not freak out?" She asked.

"...Freak out?" Vincent frowned. Yuffie stood and leaned down, holding her hand out to help him stand. The examination room was a disaster area.

"I see." He said. He glanced at Quistis. "I don't think I liked that."

Yuffie let out a snort. "Obviously."

"...My apologies."

"No problem. I got what I needed." Quistis said, holding up a vial of blood. "But let's not repeat that, alright?"

The rest of the exam went normally. The CAT Scanner/MRI was loud and annoying, but almost comfortable in it's claustrophobic confines; Vincent, after all, had slept in a coffin for 23 years.

While she compiled the results of everything, she suggested that they go to the commissary and get something to eat. "You'll probably want your strength for what you're about to go through." Quistis said, sympathetically.

They took her advice. Rufus joined them; he'd gone to take care of some other business and would be observing the transformation with the rest of the scientific team. "If that's alright with you." He said, looking at Vincent, who shrugged.

Vincent was not in his normal gear; he was wearing the hospital pants and a matching shirt, and a pair of flip-flops. He felt stupid, but it was better than trying to get back into his normal clothes. Yuffie had stored them in a locker for him.

When they were done, Rufus led them back to the examination room, where Quistis was just standing up.

"Let's go." She said, nodding at them.

Quistis led them through the maze of hallways to a room obviously designed for observation; a viewing screen showed an impressive holding cell, which Vincent assumed was made for him. The hall leading to it was marked with measurement; they led all the way up to the door.

"We need to know how far Ms. Kisaragi has to be away from you for the transformation to take effect." Quistis explained. Vincent nodded.

She asked him to sit down and take off his shirt. He did so, feeling awkward to be stripping among people. Then Quistis began applying electrodes to his temples, neck, above his heart, sides, back, and calves. He felt a momentary feeling of panic which he forced himself to push down; Hojo and Lucrecia had both used electrodes to monitor his condition.

Once she was done, she rose and indicated that he should do so as well.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" She said, looking at him. He shrugged.

"It is necessary."

"It is. Do you want to see the results of your tests before you go in?" She offered him the folder. He thought about it for a second, and then nodded.

His skeletal structure and musculature were in perfect health, due to Hojo having placed several devices within his body to produce the proper hormones to stimulate those parts of his body. His bloodwork was normal; his reproductive organs normal (Vincent raised his eyebrow as he read that), his brain normal, except for the one node which had been altered when Hojo and Lucrecia had tinkered with the demons. His senses of smell, hearing, and sight were, of course, far superior to a normal human being's, and that would never change.

"You will most likely begin aging again, once we extract the demons." Quistis said, when it became apparent that he'd finished reading the summary. "But you will always be in good health, and have great physical strength, because of those hormone stimulators. You will eventually age and die, but your body will be in great physical condition when you do."

Vincent pondered that and nodded, slowly. Mortality for humanity? That's a trade he'd make any day.

"Let's get on with this." Quistis said. "The sooner it's over, the better for everyone involved."

Quistis led Yuffie and Vincent into the room, where a chair sat. She gestured for Vincent to sit.

"I'll be in the other room." Quistis said, pointedly, as if she expected words would need to pass between the two of them.

They watched her leave, and then Yuffie turned to Vincent and smiled. It was a sad sort of smile, and she looked worried. She surprised Vincent by patting him on the head, almost like a puppy, and saying "Don't go getting yourself killed." She turned and began walking toward the door.

The change was almost instantaneous; Yuffie got about a hundred feet from him and he twitched, feeling the Galian Beast stirring beneath his exterior. "Yuffie, run." He advised. She turned toward him and saw the uncertain look in his eyes.

Her eyes widened.

"RUN." He commanded her. She turned and did so.

As she got to the door, a scream was ripped from Vincent's throat; it was a scream from Vincent, a painful one, as he fought the beast for supremacy. Once the door clanged shut, he gave in.

Horns erupted from his forehead, and his hair, normally ebony black, turned white. Scaly protrusions grew along his shoulders and spine, and the beast roared.

The door clicked locked and Yuffie ran towards Rufus, who caught her in an embrace. She was terrified; not for herself, but because Vincent had fought the beast for so long to keep her safe. She knew what kind of pain that put him through.

Quistis was watching the viewscreen, a horrified look on her face. The sound was on, and they could hear the sounds of Vincent and the Galian Beast screaming at each other as the transformation continued.

Finally, the Galian Beast stood in the middle of the room. He launched himself around, trying to find an exit, before he finally glanced directly at the one-way mirror that they were looking at him through.

In a blur of purple and red, the beast dove for the mirror and landed on it, looking directly at Yuffie despite the fact that he could not actually see her. She and Quistis screamed; Rufus backed up until he ran into a wall.

"Yuffie Kisaragi." It said, clearly. "You will be _mine_."

_Author's Notes: ANOTHER CAMEO! Sorry, I adore Quistis and when I was thinking of the person who would probably be examining Vincent, her face kept popping into my mind. It was meant to be!_

_Anyway, this is the longest chapter I've written so far. It's huge! Here's hoping I come up with more interesting plot developments as I start writing the next chapter._

_Read? Review!_


	7. Selfish Love

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Seven – Selfish Love**_

_Hey, all of you, I love you  
I embrace you with a melody so sweet you'll melt  
And a beat so hard you'll go numb,  
I'll do anything to make you go mad_

_Hey all of you, I'll take you along  
To worlds never seen by anyone before  
Along with our dreams we're wide awake,  
But the night's still still still not spoiled yet,_

_The world's not awake  
I don't care what happens anymore  
So let's just love each other tonight_

_Selfish love_

-- Miyavi, _Selfish Love_

**Warning: Lemon ahead.**

Things went _insane_. Rufus was shouting curse words at the view screen; Quistis was still screaming in horror. Yuffie was trying to avoid the piercing gaze of the Galian Beast, who followed her with his eyes everywhere she went in the room. Tears were streaming down her face.

Finally everything quieted down a little bit. Yuffie stood in the middle of the room, her hands clenched at her sides as she glared at Galian Beast, who was still "looking" on in amusement.

"Bring. Him. _Back_!" She screamed at it. Then she turned and ran from the room.

The beast roared with laughter/rage, and threw himself off the window to the other side of the room.

Rufus looked out at it, and then dashed after Yuffie.

He found her in the employee locker room, where she'd put Vincent's things. She'd found his cloak and had wrapped it around her shoulders. A large bunch of the bottom half was pushed up to her face, and she was crying into it.

It was, literally, the most heartbreaking thing he'd ever seen.

"Yuffie..."

She made a mangled sound and buried her face deeper into Vincent's cloak.

There was a pattering sound outside and then Quistis was in the doorway, breathing hard from the run. "Vincent's back. He's unconscious. Yuffie, you have to get out there before he transforms again."

Yuffie stood up and ran, Vincent's cape still trailing behind her as she ran up to the door and slammed the ball of her fist into the "DOOR OPEN" button. It sprang open and she ran in.

Vincent lay in the corner. An already-healing gash was present, running from the right side of his forehead down to his left cheek; his right arm looked like it was broken, and Quistis quickly set it so it wouldn't heal wrong.

Yuffie threw herself over his chest. She was, literally, bawling. The Galian Beast had scared the shit out of her, and for one second she'd believed she'd never see Vincent again. That idea terrified her, for reasons she couldn't identify.

Vincent's chest rose and fell as his breathing settled into a smooth pattern from the ragged, gasping breaths he was taking when they'd entered the room. Finally it seemed like he was only sleeping, and his eyes opened. Yuffie was still sobbing over his still form and it was on odd scene to take in; Yuffie, crying for a reason he couldn't quite discern; Rufus, standing off to the side and looking awkward; Quistis, trying to check his pulse around Yuffie. Quistis' hair had fallen from it's clip and was scattered haphazardly around her shoulders.

"...What's going on?" He asked. He sounded almost drunk.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie said, sitting up and looking at him, tears still falling from her eyelashes. She let out another sob and threw herself at him again, embracing him happily.

He put an arm around her so she wouldn't fall and sat up, slowly. His broken arm had healed, but the gash was still leaking blood, and it got into his eyes. He blinked, furiously, to clear them.

He thought about asking Yuffie why she was wearing his cloak, but he saw the tear stains at the end of it. Obviously it had been of some comfort to her during something, and he thought better of asking her about it.

"What happened?" He repeated. He was awkwardly patting Yuffie's back. He had no idea why.

"I...It's kind of a long story, considering it covers a span of about five minutes." Quistis said, lightly. "Can you stand?"

He glanced down at Yuffie, still sobbing, and back up at Quistis. He raised his eyebrow.

"Right." Quistis leaned down and slowly, carefully, extracted Yuffie from Vincent's form. "Yuffie. C'mon. Let's go sit down."

Quistis led them all to the observation room, sitting Yuffie down in a chair. Yuffie, slowly but surely, was regaining her composure, but her face was still half-hidden by her hair, and every now and then she'd shoot Vincent accusatory glances that quite plainly said "Do not _ever_ do that again!"

Quistis had been recording the entire incident. She rewound to the correct spot and pressed play.

Vincent watched impassively as Quistis left them in the room and Yuffie began to leave, and then he saw where the transformation began. A slight jerk of the shoulder. He heard himself warn Yuffie to run, and her confusion, and his order. Then he saw the transformation; it was odd, he'd never actually seen it before, because he was the one going through it, but it looked exactly as he'd imagined it must. He saw his fight for dominance until Yuffie was safely out of the way, and then he saw the Galian beast launching himself about the room before he landed on the camera.

"Yuffie Kisaragi. You will be _mine_."

Vincent's eyes widened.

Then he heard what was going on in the observation room. Rufus was spewing profanities at the Galian Beast, things like "Leave her the fuck alone!" and "I'm going to kick your motherfucking ass!" Quistis was screaming. Yuffie was clearly freaking out.

And then Yuffie's voice. "Bring. Him. _Back_!" And the sounds of her leaving.

And then Rufus left, and Quistis was fumbling around, trying to talk into a voice recorder, when the Galian Beast, on the ceiling, laughed maniacally and transformed into Vincent. Vincent, being unconscious and not possessing claws, fell from about twenty feet, landing in a crumbled pile in the corner. He heard Quistis swear and leave the observation room; a few minutes later Yuffie entered and threw herself on him, sobbing, as Quistis tried to set his arm.

He looked at Yuffie, who had stopped crying. Her eyes were still tear stained and she was staring out into the observation room, now that the tape had stopped.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Shouldn't we be asking _you_ that?" Yuffie said, looking him in the face. She'd been terrified, he could see that much, and it pained him that she'd been so scared of him.

"I'm fine." Vincent brushed it off.

Yuffie's lower lip quivered a little bit and she burst into tears again. "I thought I'd never _see_ you again, Vincent!" She gathered up the lower portion of his cloak again and buried her face into it.

The shock was evident on his face. Rufus, observing from the side of the room, felt a sinking sensation in his stomach.

"If I may." Quistis said, interjecting herself into the conversation apologetically. "I have the readings from the transformation...and I think I can definitely get the demons out of your head. You said there were three?"

Vincent nodded.

"We can start immediately, if you want." Quistis said. "And we can stop this from ever happening again."

Rufus carefully watched Vincent's expression. He looked at Yuffie and his face softened, incrementally. "Do it." He said, standing up. Rufus felt a little ill.

Quistis helped Yuffie to her feet; Yuffie would have to be in the chamber with them, as it was likely that the Galian Beast was going to try to re-emerge and anything that could prevent that would be helpful. Yuffie didn't have to like it, and she stubbornly wrapped Vincent's cloak around her for warmth and comfort.

Rufus watched them go to the operation room, and then leaned against the wall, sliding down slowly until his rear end touched the tiled floor. He put his hands to his head.

Great. Just great. Yuffie was in love with Vincent, and Vincent was in love with Yuffie. He was a third wheel.

He wondered just when he was supposed to get his. He'd already gone through a shitty childhood, been injected with Mako and Jenova cells, nearly died, nearly died again from geostigma, gone broke, nearly died a third time, and now he had a broken heart.

When was he going to get some happiness?

**- - - - - **

Quistis' procedure involved brain surgery, and she did not take the subject lightly.

"We will actually have to extract the contaminated cells." She said, tapping her head. "The three demons have a distinct genetic signature, and every place that they are present in your brain – nowhere important – have to be taken out. This will be accomplished with a laser guidance system; it eliminates the human error. And – I'm _really_ sorry – once the surgery is completed and you've regained consciousness, we'll have to do this all over again and see if you transform."

Vincent frowned.

"We have to make sure." Quistis explained. "Just in case I'm wrong. I don't think I am, but it's possible."

Vincent sighed and nodded. "I understand. He sat in the chair Quistis indicated; it looked almost like a dentists chair. She adjusted it so that he was comfortable, and then placed restraining straps across his chest and around his legs. Then she set an apparatus around his head.

"Try to move." She instructed him. He did. No good. His head might as well have been cemented in place.

"Good." She said, sounding satisfied. "No doubt the Galian Beast is going to put up quite a fight coming out, as well as your other demons. We don't want them joggling you around, and sending the laser into the medulla oblongata or something ridiculous like that." She smiled wryly.

No one laughed.

She brought out a breathing mask. "Seeing as you have a bad reaction to syringes, I think the gas will be best." She said. Vincent went to nod, frowned painfully, and made a verbal acknowledgment instead.

Yuffie watched him slowly sink into sleep. His face relaxed; she'd always loved the way he looked while asleep, when he let all of his defenses drop.

She bit her lip as Quistis started up the machine. A holographic diagram popped into the air above them; it was Vincent's brain. The effected area of his brain was minuscule; Quistis carefully worked to eradicate the foreign DNA.

Suddenly, Vincents' body jerked upward. His head was held perfectly still, but his torso moved, as if he were in pain.

"Stop it! It's hurting him!" Yuffie screamed.

"No, it's not! It's the Galian Beast, trying to take control!" Quistis said. She was sweating in her efforts not to damage Vincent. "Hold him _down_, Yuffie!"

Yuffie dodged the laser, and sat on Vincent's lap, pressing her hands flat against Vincent's shoulders. She ducked down so as not to get in the way. Vincent's body stilled, and she carefully laid her head over his chest and closed her eyes, willing him to stay still for the remainder of the surgery.

He did. About an hour later, she'd nearly fallen asleep on Vincent's lap when he began to stir and Quistis said "It's finished."

Yuffie looked up into Vincent's eyes and smiled. He smiled back.

_Oh my God. I'm in love with Vincent Valentine._

Yuffie blushed and scrambled off of Vincent's lap. Quistis carefully unstrapped Vincent's head. Before she released the rest of his body, she began asking questions.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

He looked confused. "Vincent."

"Vincent _who_?"

"Vincent Valentine." He said.

"What is your blood type?"

"A positive. What is -"

"Who am I?"

"Quistis Trepe. What -"

"Okay." She carefully undid the buckles and straps and finally Vincent could stand. "I just had to make sure one of them hadn't taken over your psyche."

Vincent stood. He felt...good. Actually, better than he had in years. They could run all of the tests they wanted; he was fairly certain that...

He was free.

They were gone. Galian Beast, Hellmasker, and Death Gigas. They were all gone, and would never trouble him again.

He turned toward Yuffie, who was standing with her head down, looking off toward the doorway. She looked...he didn't know, actually. Not depressed, but her posture indicated such.

"Let's test our theory out." Quistis said, smiling. She led them back to the observation room.

Rufus had straightened up; now he was the one who was impassive. He looked at them.

"How'd it go?" He asked, disinterestedly. So cold. Yuffie shivered.

Rufus knew. She knew without a doubt that he did. And he probably hated Vincent for it, but because he was a nice guy he wasn't going to come out and say that. Instead he'd start being all self-destructive again, working entirely too long hours and possibly going back to using cocaine. It had taken him too long to clean up from that and she didn't want to be the one who sent him back.

She'd have to hide it, then.

For Rufus.

Because a little more of his heart would break every time he saw them together, even if they weren't together. Yuffie came to the startling realization that they _wouldn't_ be together.

Vincent didn't love her. And even if he did, he was the kind of person who didn't actively pursue people. Look at what had happened with Lucrecia.

She bit her lip. The idea of finally finding love, and never getting to do anything about it, was downright painful. She felt her heart break in two, and felt that she knew exactly what Rufus was going through.

"Okay, Vincent, go ahead and sit down." Quistis directed, picking up the chair for him. He did so.

"Yuffie, let's go."

Vincent looked up in time to see Yuffie give him one last lingering look before she walked away. She looked dejected. He wondered why; she could finally be rid of him if she wanted.

Nothing happened. They waited until nightfall. Yuffie had left the building, doing the shopping she'd said she was going to do. Nothing.

Vincent sighed. He was free.

**- - - - - **

It was late at night when Yuffie, gun drawn, got back to the building. She buzzed for clearance and was let in.

"It's late, you shouldn't be walking around. Monsters." The guard said.

"I know. That's why I have this." Yuffie said, holding up the gun. She put it in her purse (safety on) and headed back toward the observation room.

Halfway there, Quistis intercepted her.

"He's in the lab." She said, gesturing for the younger woman to follow. "Taking a nap. I'll show you in, and then I'm going to bed. Rufus left for Kalm already."

Yuffie nodded.

"Is he better?"

"Yes. No trace of the foreign genetic material at all. He's fine, although he's going to start aging again." She shrugged. "That didn't seem to bother him at all."

"No, it wouldn't." Yuffie said, sadly.

Quistis bade her good night and then left the two of them alone in the room. Vincent lay on the lab table, snoring lightly. He'd put his normal clothes back on. She smiled and brushed some of the hair out of his face.

His eyes opened. Her hand was still on his cheek. She removed it.

"All better?" She said, a hint of sad laughter in her voice.

"So they say." He said. He sat up, slowly.

"Does it feel any different?" She asked.

"Immensely." He said. He slid off the lab table. "Should we go?"

"Sure. It's night." She said. "I'll scout ahead with the gun and motorcycle if you promise to keep the windows on the truck closed."

"Truck?"

"I went massive grocery shopping." Yuffie said, smiling. "Like, massive. Like, I didn't know there was that much Easy Mac in the world massive."

"Oh. Of course." Vincent said. He strode to the door and opened it, gesturing for Yuffie to precede him.

She led him out of the building and outside; the truck, which she had haphazardly driven back to the building, and the bike, sat waiting for them. Yuffie drew her gun.

"Let's go."

Vincent climbed into the truck and started it, gazing at Yuffie. Something was off about her, and he didn't know what it was. Whatever was wrong, he wanted to somehow make it better, and he didn't know how to.

He was very much distracted all the way back to Kalm. Yuffie would shoot out at monsters occasionally, but they seemed to have learned that motorcyclists could fight back from the trip out.

It took them about an hour to unload the truck, and Yuffie called the rental company to come pick it up.

"Did you get your discount?" Vincent asked.

"What?" Yuffie was startled out of her thoughts by his voice. She thought back to that morning and chuckled. "You know, with everything that happened today...I completely forgot. I guess Rufus got an eyeful for nothing." She sighed. "I better go see him. I'll be back later, Vincent. Don't wait up."

Vincent stared after her as she left, hopping on her motorcycle without a care. Something was very, very wrong.

**- - - - - **

Rufus was awake late, again. He'd been staring at the same map of Wutai for about two hours, trying fruitlessly to figure out how to get the field workers to agree to a forced evacuation, when the doorbell rang.

He sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. It was nearly two in the morning, and he needed sleep.

Yuffie was at the door. He glanced at her humorlessly.

"What's up?" He asked, trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy between the two of them.

She was reading his face. Suddenly she pushed him inside and closed the door behind them, and pushed him up against the wall. Her lips pressed against his.

These weren't the kisses of someone in love. They were the kisses of someone drowning in sorrow. But Rufus took what he could get, because he also was mourning.

It was fevered; she took his face in her hands and pushed them through his wonderfully styled hair, as he ran his hands down the sides of her body, letting them come to rest on her buttocks. She slowly led him to his study.

Once there, she pushed his ever-present jacket off, and, still kissing him, began unbuttoning his shirt. He reached for the zipper at her back.

Suddenly his moral code clicked in, and he separated himself from Yuffie. She looked confused.

"You're in love with Vincent." He said it. It sounded odd and hollow coming from him.

Yuffie shrugged.

"Did he _reject_ you?" Rufus looked astounded. "He's dumber than I thought."

Yuffie laughed, bitterly. "I didn't even bother trying, Rufus. Vince...doesn't love me. And even if he did...he wouldn't let a silly thing like love get in the way of common sense. He's turning sixty in less than two weeks and I'm only 26; about to turn 27. You know him."

"Are you _kidding _me?" Rufus took her by the shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. "Yuffie, Vincent is completely, and insanely, in love with you. I say that as someone who would know. Just trust me on this, okay? And even if he says no at first, trust me when I say that you will eventually wear him down. You do funny things to a guy's heart." A twisted smile appeared on his face.

Yuffie had tears leaking down her face. She hugged Rufus. "I'm so sorry, Rufus. Really."

Rufus put his arms around her, savoring the feel of it. "It's not your fault, Yuffie. No one can help who they fall in love with." He chuckled. "If we could, none of us would be in this mess."

She hugged him tighter.

"I'll tell you one thing, though, Yuffie. There's only one man on the planet, other than me, that I would ever trust you with." Rufus patted her head. "And that's Vincent. He's the only other guy who would take care of you. He's the only other one who would wake up every single day and know that he was the luckiest guy on the planet."

Yuffie laughed into his chest. "You're just saying that because you think you'd be lucky. Trust me, you think you're lucky until I get PMS, and then suddenly you're dodging throwing stars."

Rufus laughed too. They separated and he sighed. "Just promise me, Yuffie." He looked into her eyes. "Promise me you'll tell him. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I've still got you as a friend, and that's more than I had last time. Alright?"

Yuffie nodded, sadly. "I'll try, Rufus. It's hard. He's so hard to read. I don't know."

"You'll find the words, Yuffie. You always do."

**- - - - - **

Vincent heard Yuffie's bike in the driveway, and padded downstairs to meet her. He'd been awake upstairs, in the process of undressing for bed. He'd gotten as far as taking his cloak and shirt off, and his shoes, when she pulled up.

Yuffie walked in, tiredly, keys in hand. She looked disheveled; she'd been crying.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked. She shook her head and headed for the stairs.

He followed behind her and got a familiar whiff; Rufus. She'd been close to Rufus.

He narrowed his eyes. "How's Rufus doing?" He asked. He kept his tone of voice even.

"About as well as he can, considering the circumstances." Yuffie said. She opened the door to her bedroom and set her keys on the table near the door. "I'm exhausted."

"You smell like him." It was out of Vincent's mouth before he could stop himself.

"Pardon me?" Yuffie turned and looked at him. Vincent was standing in the hallway; he was leaning noncommittally against the banister.

"His scent has overpowered your scent. You smell like Rufus." Vincent informed her. He looked at her.

"And...why is that any of your business?" Yuffie asked, dangerously.

"I was just telling you." Vincent said. He didn't like that particular tone of voice, and he began edging toward his room.

"And why should it matter if I smell like Rufus?" Yuffie asked. Her voice rose in pitch. "Why is it any of your goddamn business?"

"Uh..." This was unknown territory for Vincent. Every answer seemed as if it would damn him.

"You know what? It's none of your business. It isn't. Even if, say, I went over there and _screwed his brains out._ It's none. Of. Your. Business. Vincent Valentine!" Yuffie was advancing on him.

Her eyes were smoking. Vincent vaguely regretted getting rid of the Galian Beast for a split second; now he was mortal, and tomorrow morning they might find his body laying in a ditch.

"But for your information, I wasn't screwing Rufus." Yuffie turned and stormed back to her room. "No, in fact, he was _comforting_ me."

"What?"

"Yeah. Comforting me because I fell in love with an _asshole_!" Yuffie screamed. She threw a ream of paper at him and slammed her door.

Paper fluttered in the hallway, coming to a stop as it rested against the cool wood panels. Vincent stared in awe at her closed door.

He began cleaning up the paper. It had been an entire ream and a good chunk of it had fallen down into the room below. After about fifteen minutes of chasing paper around, he finally had it settled into a fairly neat stack, which he gently set to the side of her door.

Women were _insane_.

He sighed and walked downstairs. He was still barefoot and in only his pants. It didn't matter. He needed something to drink, and he suspected that Yuffie would too. He knew of only one thing that could bring a woman down from a full-fledged rage.

His father's hot chocolate.

Vincent could clearly remember his mother losing her temper at Grimoire Valentine, some fifty years ago, and locking herself in the bathroom. Once he'd pried the door open, Grimoire had presented her with a big cup of the chocolate, which had calmed her down considerably.

After that, he'd sat down with a very young Vincent, who was still terrified from having seen his parents fight, and spoke to him.

"Son, I'm only ever going to tell you this once. If you ever get married, or have a lady friend, and this happens...give them hot chocolate." Grimoire had shaken his head in dismay and walked out of the room.

Vincent wished he'd remembered this gem when he'd had his first girlfriend in high school. That had been a long, drawn-out death sentence.

Carefully, he began making the necessary preparations for his father's recipe, which was one of the thousand of recipes stored in his head. He had often pondered putting them to paper, but wondered what good it would do. Many of the recipes were treasured family secrets, so he couldn't very well sell any resulting book.

He made a decently sized pot of the chocolate and let it simmer after pouring himself a cup. He smelled; it was redolent of chocolate and cinnamon, hazelnut and clove.

Perfect.

He poured Yuffie a large cup and rinsed out the pan. Setting it aside for morning, he climbed the stairs carefully, and set the cup down near the paper. Then he knocked gently and went back into his room.

He closed the door and felt the difference in air pressure as she opened hers. He smiled. Tomorrow was another day.

He sat in bed, one knee hiked up, his unoccupied arm clasping it loosely, sipping the drink and listening to the wind howl outside. His weather sense told him it would be raining tonight; any time now, in fact. Possibly, it would go into tomorrow afternoon.

He pondered what had been his first move in pissing Yuffie off when she came inside. He was going to make sure to never make that mistake again. Ever.

He replayed the whole incident in his head, looking for the breaking point. It had been when he'd mentioned that she smelled like Rufus. How had he said it? He must have sounded off, somehow. Possessive. He'd tried to keep his voice neutral.

Wait.

_"Comforting me because I fell in love with an asshole!"_

What?

_"__**Comforting**__ me because I fell in love with an __**asshole**__!"_

There was a knock at his door. "Vince?" Yuffie sounded hesitant.

"Come in." He said, softly. She entered, and walked over, sitting next to him on the bed, but looking away. She'd changed clothes, and was wearing a huge night shirt that went down to her knees, with a silly moogle on the front.

"Today sucked." She said, softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite alright." He said, reasonably. "Today was not fun for either of us."

"Yeah, well." Yuffie laughed, shortly. "You may have turned into a monster, but at least you didn't find out you were in love with your best friend."

Vincent froze.

"You know, everything seems like it's going great." Yuffie said, looking up toward the ceiling. "It looks like we're going to be able to get everyone indoors during the alignment. I just bought a fucking mansion. My very best friend on the planet essentially...got himself cured of a horrible disease...and then something comes along to ruin it all." She put her face into her hands and began to cry.

Vincent set his cup down on the night stand and swung his feet over the edge of the bed, bringing himself next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders.

"Is Rufus...very angry with me?" Vincent asked, trying to inject some sort of humor into the situation.

"I don't think so." Yuffie said. She wiped her eyes and gave a hollow laugh. "He said some very nice things about you, actually."

Vincent absorbed that while Yuffie absorbed the fact that Vincent hadn't said anything directly pertaining to them. She was too wiped out to think about it.

"He said..." Yuffie sighed shakily. "That you were the only person on the planet he trusted to take care of me other than him." She snorted. "Like I _need_ someone to take care of me. I've managed fine for 26 years."

"That is very true." Vincent was a little stung.

"I just...didn't expect it." Yuffie said. "When you were there, and Quistis was operating on you, the Galian Beast tried to come out. Like he knew we were trying to kill him. And you looked like you were in so much pain. I just couldn't stand it. And then Quistis told me to restrain you, so I did." Another lifeless laugh. "And you calmed down right away. I almost fell asleep, you were so calm. And then when you woke up and smiled at me..." She shook her head and buried her eyes into her fists. "It was like someone had punched me in the stomach. I was so happy you'd made it through it, I was so relieved. And then I realized why I cared so much..."

Vincent held her tighter, murmuring various noises of comfort. The unthinkable had occurred; Yuffie Kisaragi had fallen in love with him. Not only that, but she was terrified to lose him as a friend, as well – her best friend, she'd said. When had all of this happened?

Vincent didn't think he was a very good friend, nor a good choice for a lover. He had no right to her, but she'd chosen him just the same.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Vince...I just..." Yuffie pushed her hair out of her eyes and turned to him for the first time. "I need to know you're not going to freak out and take off. Today...when I was looking into it's eyes...I was so scared. Scared I'd never see you again. I don't want to go through that again, not right now. I don't...we don't have to be together. That's all up to you. But I still want you _here_. I want to know that...you'll be there."

"Yuffie..." Vincent trailed off and then he turned to face the wall, thinking. "I cannot deny that I love you. I have for a while. You're an..easy person to fall in love with. There are many great things about you." He pressed his lips together. "I turn sixty years old this month. I have experienced thirty seven of them. Even then, ten years is quite a leap in age."

Yuffie chortled, sadly. "How different in age were your parents?"

Vincent smiled. "Fourteen years. Point taken." He sighed. "I cannot promise to you that I will always be there. I'm mortal now. But I can promise to you that I will not willingly leave you to suffer. I couldn't put you through that." He sighed again and shook his head. "You could not have chosen a worse person to fall in love with, Yuffie. I'm not a good friend, nor am I a good choice for a lover. I...well..."

"That's my choice, though, Vincent." Yuffie replied quietly.

"I am very much aware of that. Have I ever, in the past month we've been together, treated you like a child?"

Yuffie thought back. "No. Now that you mention it, you haven't. Everyone else has, but not you." She smiled. "Actually, I don't think you ever did treat me like a child. Not even during Meteor."

He pulled her to him and hugged her. "You were a childish woman, not a child. There were a great many times when you brought me out of my depression."

Yuffie hugged him back, and then laughed. "I feel like...I'm hanging on for dear life. To a life preserver."

"Funny. I feel the same way." Vincent said.

"You don't remember last night, do you?" Yuffie asked, quietly.

Vincent frowned. "I..don't know. I feel like something important happened and I missed it."

"I got really drunk." Yuffie said. "I woke up to pee and I couldn't go back to sleep. I heard you get up, you know, to do the same thing, and I came in here while you were in the bathroom."

Vincent's eyes widened.

"No, no. Nothing like that." Yuffie said. But then she pushed herself away from him. "I don't know if it was just, like, lust, or what. I started kissing you, and it was great, but you wouldn't do anything more than that." She laughed outright. "Vincent Valentine, the perfect gentleman, even when he's drunk. And then you passed out, so it _couldn't_ go farther than that, but that was fine. I just cuddled up next to you and feel asleep."

Vincent was staring at her in shock. He'd kissed Yuffie, and couldn't even remember it? Leviathan must hate him.

"And, you know, my entire life, I've always felt vulnerable while I was asleep. Always. Ever since I was a little kid. And last night, I didn't. I felt safe." Yuffie hugged herself. "It was a great feeling, Vince. I'm safe with you."

She turned back to him. "So, you know, you're kind of like...my good luck charm." She smiled. "Things always come out alright when you're around."

Vincent couldn't find the words to speak. There was a lump in his throat, hearing someone else talk about him like that. So many times in his past, he'd wanted it. And now he had it, and it would be so wrong – but so right – to give in to it.

"I'm just babbling here, you can interrupt any time you want. I'm just..you know, trying to fill the void." Yuffie laughed nervously.

Vincent was weighing everything in his head, for Yuffie had been right about him. He was indeed a very logical person. If he rejected her, there was the possibility that she'd go on to meet someone new and eventually live a long, happy life with them, but he'd have to see her cry now, and it would break him.

If he decided to be with her, things could go wrong or right. And she wouldn't cry.

Ten years wasn't really that much of a difference.

Was it?

"Gaia to Vincent." A hand flew across his field of vision and he glanced over at Yuffie, to whom the hand belonged. "You were off in la-la land. Are you alright?"

"I'm just...overwhelmed." Vincent said. He inhaled, deeply. "It's like Christmas."

Yuffie giggled. "Christmas?" Vincent smiled.

"You have to decide which present you want. The small one and the big one both look great, because they could both be two things you really want, and you need to figure out which one you want most: the big, amazing present, or the small, sentimental one." He shook his head.

"That's very poetic, Vincent."

"When I was younger I would sit there for what seemed like forever, just looking at the presents, deciding which one I wanted, while my mother and father tried to hand other ones to me. It never worked, though, I always wanted one of those two."

"Well.." Yuffie said, her face spreading into an impish grin. "Which one did you choose?"

"Me?" Vincent leaned back against the wall, an almost smug look on his face. "I invariably chose the larger one. Of course." He crossed his arms.

"Really. Was it always worth it?" Yuffie asked.

"Always." Vincent said. Yuffie crawled over to the other side of the bed and sat next to him, eyes narrowed.

"What was it?" She asked.

"Oh, it depended. One year, it was a chemistry set. Another, a telescope. I was a science geek." Yuffie giggled at the idea of Vincent as a child, secretly plotting to blow up the refrigerator with his home made dynamite.

"You know, I think those toys might still be sitting there on my shelf at my parents' old house." Vincent said."I never broke my toys. I was always careful with them."

"Always?" Yuffie asked. She was getting closer to him. Vincent nodded. "Even now?"

"Especially now." Vincent said. A small smile graced his lips.

Yuffie gave a sudden squeal and captured those lips in a kiss. Vincent kissed her back, smiling beneath her. He had always been always very, very careful with his presents, and that was a trend he was not going to be breaking any time soon.

**- - - - - **

Vincent awoke the next morning with an unusual feeling next to him. It was the feeling of someone else in his bed. He opened his eyes.

Yuffie was laying there, facing him on her side. Her eyes were closed and she was most definitely asleep, but she was, quite literally, cuddling him and it was possibly the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

They were both still wearing the clothes they'd been in the night before; after the exhaustion of the emotional roller coaster from _hell_, sex would have been out of the question even if either of them had been so inclined.

He brushed a lock of hair out of her face and she stirred.

Beautiful gray eyes opened and looked up at him. "Heya." She whispered.

Vincent smiled. "Good morning." He lightly kissed her forehead, and brushed more hair out of her face.

"I see I am going to be getting a lot of Romantic Vincent in the near future." Yuffie said, giggling.

"I highly doubt that there is a difference between Romantic Vincent and Normal Vincent." Vincent said, seriously. Yuffie giggled again.

"I'd love to stay here in bed. But I'm starving, and unfortunately, the world needs to be saved again." Yuffie rolled her eyes. "You know, just once, I'd like the damn world to save itself." She sat up and stretched, yawning mightily.

Vincent watched her every movement as she slid out of bed and walked to the door. "See you downstairs, Vinnie?"

He nodded and sat up as the door closed behind her. Today was looking to be a good day.

He dressed in the black shoes Yuffie had bought him, and shrugged into his shirt from yesterday, leaving the cloak and hair band where they lay. He then padded over to Yuffie's room and knocked, politely.

"May I use your brush?" He asked. They hadn't gone shopping for him yet and he didn't have one. He'd used hers yesterday.

"Umm, yeah, hang on, I'm using it." Yuffie said. "Come on in." Vincent opened the door.

Yuffie was standing in the bathroom. She had a tight T-shirt on, and white thong panties, but nothing else. She was carefully braiding her hair.

Vincent was trying to be a good boyfriend and keep his eyes above the waistline, but really, this was pushing the limit.

He glanced down, briefly taking in the firm line of her buttocks before glancing back up at her face politely.

"I saw that." Yuffie said. She smirked.

Vincent crossed his arms. "Are you almost done with your hairbrush?"

"Not really." Yuffie said. "You can wait over there if it means so much to you." She gestured at her bed with her elbow. "I'm doing a French braid, here, and it's hard."

Vincent saw her fumble with the brush at one point. She swore and bent over to pick it up. She was going to be the death of him.

He closed his eyes. They really didn't have time for any dalliances. They didn't.

She turned toward him and Vincent noticed one more thing. Yuffie was not wearing a bra.

He narrowed his eyes. She was doing this on purpose.

Yuffie giggled as she walked out of the bathroom, her half-up hair forgotten. "Well, either we can do what I _didn't _do with Rufus last night...or you can just go into public with that." She pointed at the bulge in his pants, which he had been trying so hard to hide.

Yuffie leaned over and kissed him, prying his mouth open with her tongue. Vincent closed his eyes, gently yielding to her ministrations. Yuffie climbed on top of him, pushing him backward toward the bed, and continued kissing him. She used one hand to prop herself up, and the other she put to his cheek, caressing. Vincent opened his eyes; it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen, her lovely face after a kiss.

She began planting soft kisses along his jaw line, and then down his throat while her fingers busied themselves unbuttoning his shirt. That task attended to, she continued the kisses down his chest and belly, before she reached his pants. She stopped, at that point, and pulled herself back up, sitting lightly on top of Vincent's erection and making him groan.

She reached down and pulled her T-shirt off. Vincent gaped; it was like his daydream from yesterday had come true. She was perfect, always had been, but being confronted with perfection wasn't something he'd ever expected.

She leaned back down and kissed him. Tentatively, he reached up and cupped a breast with his hand, dragging his thumb over the nipple while they kissed.

Apparently that was the right thing to do, because Yuffie let a low moan out through their kiss. She rubbed her pelvis against his, forcing a similar reaction from him.

He let his hand drift down her side, eventually playing with the thong fabric at her hip absentmindedly while he focused on kissing her. Eventually she stopped and glared at him.

"If you don't knock that off, I am going to rape you painfully. I will not be able to help it." She said.

He smirked.

"And stop that, too. Jesus." Yuffie shuddered. Obviously having decided she was entirely too turned on, Yuffie reached for Vincent's pants and unzipped them hurriedly. She pulled them and underwear down in one fell swoop, and was confronted with...his penis. Which was huge.

Well, huger than anything she'd had experience with. She couldn't say she knew one way or the other what made a huge penis.

With a cry of frustration, she set upon it. She took the tip of it and slowly sucked it into her mouth. Vincent let out a gasp of pleasure somewhere above her head; looking back, she saw that he'd propped himself up to his elbows and was currently clutching her comforter in both hands. His eyes were closed and his head was thrown back.

It was possibly the most erotic thing she'd ever seen. She had to stop this or she was going too come fast. Although, to be honest, it looked like he would, too.

She should have never underestimated Vincent. He, of course, would have stamina. She tried every trick in the book to make him come early and it didn't work; he just sat there and made little mewling noises that made her even hornier.

Finally, she just gave in. She gestured for him to scoot farther up on the bed, which he did, almost in a daze. Then she slowly impaled herself on his length, closing her eyes while she did so.

Vincent watched the whole process in fascination, gasping occasionally as she hit a sweet spot. By the time she'd sank all that she could, a mere quarter inch remained between them. She cried out in frustration, and Vincent bucked his hips.

Goosebumps erupted on her skin and she began moving. "Ohhhhh, Leviathan." Yuffie said. At first she tried to stay sitting upright but eventually she decided that she needed to be nearer Vincent; she tilted forward and kissed him, and then they made the unconscious decision to synchronize their movements. Vincent was hanging on to her hips and thrusting, and she was rapidly moving on and off, on and off.

"Yuffie..." He growled. He separated their kiss and nuzzled her breasts, taking a nipple in his mouth while she cried out. After a while he switched to the other nipple, and Yuffie let loose with something resembling a battle cry. Vincent smirked at her as she looked down at him, and the effect was instantaneous; the goosebumps multiplied, her nipples hardened, and a shiver went down her spine.

And then Yuffie Kisaragi was coming.

It started slowly, a spasmodic clenching of her neither regions, and then a spurt of wetness. Then she threw her head back – still rising and falling on him – and it sent him into a frenzy.

When Yuffie next had the clarity of mind to glance downward, Vincent was writhing underneath her; his mouth was slack and he was gasping for air, grabbing at her pillows, calling out her name. His brow was furrowed and he was obviously mid-orgasm and it was so fucking hot that it sent Yuffie into another spasm.

Finally, she slumped forward and touched her forehead to his. "I love you." She said, seriously.

"I love you too." Vincent kissed her, lightly. "But you are eventually going to have to get off of me if we are ever going to get anything done."

"It's only noon." Yuffie said, lazily. She smiled. "And we both smell like sex now."

Vincent froze at that.

"Let's go put our clothes in the washer/dryer and take a bath." She said, kissing his neck.

"But..."

"I talked to Cally. She's forcing Rufus to sleep in today. He's probably still asleep." More kisses. They practically made him purr.

"But..."

"The contractor doesn't come until tomorrow...shouldn't we enjoy the place while there's still sunlight coming through?"

He gave in. "Very well." He said. She smirked.

She winced a little bit as she slid off of his spent member; it had been a long while since she'd last dabbled in sensuality in any way, and Vincent was definitely bigger than the last guy she'd been with. She'd be sore for several days yet, but it had been worth it.

She gathered up all of their clothes and winked at him before heading down to the laundry room. She set everything washing and then returned to her bedroom. Vincent was not there.

He was in the bathroom, completely naked, setting a warm temperature on her bath. She grinned.

"I like a very warm bath. I hope that suits you." He said, gravely. She smiled.

"Warm, cold, whatever. You're here." As if that statement made some sort of sense, she grinned at him and got into the bath, hissing slightly at the temperature but relaxing fast.

Vincent got in with her and they sat there, watching the Leviathan fountain empty into the tub. Vincent had his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"Cid is going to murder me." Vincent said, conversationally. "Just for the record."

"Nah. Cid knows I can take care of myself. It's Barret you have to worry about." She winked at him.

He chuckled. They had a very romantic bath together, soaping each other up and rinsing each other off. Yuffie kept stealing kisses, as if she thought he was suddenly going to decide to disappear.

"I'm not _going_ anywhere, Yuffie. Please sit still so I can rinse your hair out." Vincent said, exasperated, after she'd tried to turn and kiss him for the fourth time.

She giggled and sat still, obediently.

Finally, they were both clean and sick of the water. Yuffie stopped the bath and it began to drain, and they stood up. Yuffie pointed to a stack of towels on her bathroom counter; Vincent handed her one and took one for himself; the both of them worked on drying out their hair before drying their bodies.

Yuffie, naked, winked at Vincent and then ran down the hall to get their clothes. She brought them back and they changed; it was obvious that she was trying to coerce Vincent into an encore, but he refused.

"Not that I don't want to, Yuffie, but we do need to do things today. And not just those things." She smirked at him, and, accepting this fact, pulled on her pants and shirt.

Hair dry and clothing accounted for, they left the house with their normal accessories – guns (Vincent borrowed one of Yuffie's), cell phones, communiques, identification. Yuffie drove them to a diner for breakfast ("I don't feel like cooking, and I don't think you do either.") and then they headed over to Rufus' house.

Oddly, no one answered the door. Peeking into the garage, she could see that both the town car and motorcycle were accounted for. Then Yuffie gasped.

"Vincent, we gotta go." She said, her eyes wide as she pulled on his arm.

"What?" Vincent allowed himself to be dragged back to the motorcycle. "What's going on?"

Yuffie shushed him. "Be quiet." That seemed like an odd comment to make; if they were trying to be sneaky, roaring off on a motorcycle was probably not the best way to do it.

"What's going on?" Vincent repeated when she pulled up in front of the house.

"Well, Rufus wasn't answering the door, and Cally's car was in his garage." Yuffie explained. Vincent didn't seem to understand why they'd have to sneak off.

Then, suddenly, dawning comprehension. "Oh." A pause. "Shouldn't I be feeling...overprotective, or something?" Vincent asked. "...That _is_ my sister."

"Yeah, your almost thirty year old sister." Yuffie smirked. "If she's anything like me, she'd kick your ass for suggesting she'd need protection." She bit her lip. "Hm. What to do. We have to wait until they're done..."

"We have twenty days until the alignment. Waiting isn't a very good idea." Vincent said.

"The contractor comes today." Yuffie pointed out. "In about two hours. Let's go do the final bit of shopping to stock up, and then we can meet him here. And then...we get AVALANCHE over here to prepare."

Vincent looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Prepare? Don't you think you're a little over prepared?"

"Nuh uh!" Yuffie said, shaking her head. "I mean, prepare for battle! You think I'm just gonna stay locked up in my _mansion_ while the danger passes? I don't think so!" She shoved her helmet on her head. "I'm going to fight."

_Author's Notes: Yes, I did rip the idea of the laser machine directly from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Hey, it works!_

_And yeah, it's corny, but it reminds me of how I interact with my husband. We're both inner romantics. :)_

_According to Cally, this is not how some children viewed Christmas! I am appalled! I always basically went through the same dilemma: Big or small, big or small? I always wound up choosing the big one. Once, and this is the absolute coolest, it was an Egyptology book with a foot-long display sarcophagus included. I miss that thing._

_Vincent was a science geek. I was a history geek. Deal with it. :P_

_In other news, my Internet has been shut off, so updates will be sporadic. I will keep writing, but I may amass several chapters before I am able to get to the Internet to upload them. Thank goodness that I have a laptop with a wireless card. O.o_

_Edit: I corrected a minor typo and added a warning about the lemon. Sorry, guys. o.O _


	8. We'll Dance the Dance, Baby

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Eight – We'll Dance The Dance, Baby**_

_Maybe everything changed  
And maybe I stayed the same  
What does it matter to me, now, anyway?_

_If I ever regret it  
If I'm ever repentant  
Karma sings, and we'll dance the dance, baby_

-- Econoline Crush, _All That You Are_

Cally bit her lip as she carefully slid the key Rufus had given her into his door lock. It was early in the morning and she knew he'd either still be awake, or have gone to bed. Either way, he was getting some sleep.

The house was dark, but that didn't mean much. She started searching the mansion.

After many push-backs and a lot of work, today they were announcing the alignment to the world. The press conference was in a little more than twelve hours, at five p.m., and Cally had every intention of making sure Rufus was well-rested for the backlash that was sure to occur.

Caves and safe-houses throughout the world had been fortified and stockpiled with WRO-guarded food and water sources. There were several depots throughout the world full of food for those who were content to wait out the hell storm in their secure homes. These were services Shinra was offering for free, but despite their generosity, she was sure there would be those who would still find a reason to pick on Shinra, and vocally. Rufus was used to it, but she knew it still bothered him.

He needed his rest, and maybe some food.

She found him, asleep in his bed. She smiled, and tiptoed over to his bedside table. Sure enough, his alarm clock was set to six. She turned it off.

"Cally? What are you doing here?" A sleepy voice said. She whirled around in shock and looked at Rufus.

"Er..."

"Did I sleep through my alarm?" Rufus shot out of bed and glanced at his bedside table. He groaned. "Dammit. I just went to sleep two hours ago."

"I was turning it off." Cally said. "You need rest for today. It's go-day and we can't have you exhausted."

"That's very kind, Cally, but I have so much work to do..."

She looked at him appealingly.

He sighed.

"I'll make you something to eat." Cally said, pretending to give in.

"That'd be great." Rufus said.

Cally smiled at him and went down to the kitchen, where she prepared a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage with toast. She laced the scrambled eggs thoroughly with sleeping pills; she knew this was going to happen.

Apparently, Rufus did too. "I won't eat it until you try some too." He said. narrowing his eyes. Cally sighed and made a big show of tasting the eggs; she was screwed, and she hoped she had the time to get down to the study and the comfortable couches before she started getting hazy.

No such luck. Rufus ate the whole meal and then swayed slightly. He looked up at her and glared. "What'd you put in it?"

"Sleeping pills." Cally said. Her voice sounded distant to herself. "If it makes you feel better, I gave myself a pretty good dose tasting your food." Her words were a little garbled, and she was having problems focusing.

Rufus' eyes began to droop. "That was low." He muttered. Then he fell backwards, asleep.

"Finally." Cally said. She shook her head to try and rid it of the confusion, but nothing seemed to work. She curled up at the end of Rufus' bed and fell asleep right there.

**- - - - - **

At some point during the night, Rufus had moved her. When she woke up he was still on his side of the bed, asleep, but in a different position than he'd been in when she'd last seen him. She was on the other side of the bed (king-sized; according to Rufus, he thrashed about while he slept), tucked in evenly. Her pumps had been removed and set on the floor next to the bed.

He must have gotten up to use the restroom. Glancing at the clock, she saw that she'd been out for a good eight hours.

Rufus mumbled something in his sleep. True to his claims, he jerked violently and clocked her in the head.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, before she had a chance to try to quiet herself. Rufus' eyes shot open.

She was rubbing her head ruefully and glaring at him.

"Huh?" He asked, sleepily. Rufus wasn't a morning person, never had been. He stretched and yawned, obviously well-rested.

"How are you up already?" Cally demanded. She sat up and crossed her arms.

"'m used to sleeping pills." Rufus said. "Dad used to give them to me when I was little, to get me to leave him alone."

Cally felt a pang at that. Rufus really was a great guy; most people would bitch at working for the head of Shinra, but he was always making sure she took her lunch break and a dinner break if she were working late, and he'd always thanked her profusely for anything she did for him. He'd had a crappy childhood and she wished fervently that it hadn't been so.

It must have shown on her face; Rufus brushed her off. "Don't worry 'bout it. 's the past." He blinked. "I feel great." He sat up. "I really needed that."

"I figured." Cally said. There was poison in her voice, and Rufus laughed at it.

"Obviously, you did too. You look ten times better than when you doped me up." He yawned again, and got out of bed.

Cally hadn't stopped to think about what Rufus wore to bed. He was in his boxers and nothing else; her eyes widened and she carefully brought them to rest on his light fixture while he stumbled to the bathroom.

While he took care of business, Cally turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror attached to his dresser. She looked like hell; her makeup was smeared and her hair had fallen out of it's careful bun. Her skirt suit was wrinkled; in fact, the jacket was missing entirely, and the top two shirt buttons had come undone, exposing just a little too much cleavage for her taste. At least, while she was in her boss' presence; she looked like she had just gotten home from a nightclub. And he said she looked better. She must have looked horrid when she'd walked in.

She caught sight of her jacket on the back of a chair. And her nylons. Her eyes widened.

A bathrobe was tossed her way. "If you want, you can set your clothes to wash down the hall." Rufus' voice said. "There's a spare bathroom in the guest bedroom. I can't do anything about your makeup, though."

"Uh..." Cally began, uncertainly. "Why are my panty hose off?"

"Oh. Those things always looked really uncomfortable to me." Rufus said, sheepishly. He did not come out of the bathroom. "I just kinda tugged them off for you. I didn't look. Promise."

"Right." Cally muttered under her breath. She stooped and got her shoes, and then strode over to her jacket and nylons. She changed into the bath robe in the guest bedroom and put her clothes in the washer (delicates cycle, with Woolite). She took a quick shower and put the bathrobe back on.

It was a man's robe, which meant that it was entirely too short for her tastes. In reality, it came to mid-thigh, but she was constantly tugging it down. Even her skirt suits came to just above the knee.

The problem was that every time she tugged it down, her cleavage would become exposed, and she'd tug it up, only to hike up the hem line at the same time. Finally, she gave it up as a failed battle and tiptoed, barefoot, to the laundry room. She could hear Rufus showering in his bathroom and hoped that he'd stay there until she had clean clothes.

The washer/dryer had just switched to "dry" mode. She groaned. That'd take at least 45 minutes. 45 minutes of being just barely covered up, in her boss' house.

She pondered just resolutely staying in the guest bedroom, but she was starving. This was why she didn't sleep for hours at a time; she invariably woke up feeling like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She sighed and headed toward the kitchen.

Using what few culinary skills she had gleaned from her mother, she prepared a large brunch from the veritable grocery store Rufus had in his kitchen. She'd just put some muffins in for baking (they were the quick-baking type; should be done in about ten minutes) when she heard a hesitant cough behind her.

She widened her eyes and straightened up; she'd been bent over the stove and her rear end had been exposed.

"Making something to eat." Cally explained, backing up into the stove. She felt, strangely enough, like a schoolgirl who had just lost her virginity. It would have been adorable in anyone else; Cally prided herself on being more mature than that.

"Right." Rufus said. "Have you got the press release? I want to go over it before I go on air."

Cally nodded mutely and gestured toward the front hallway, where she recovered her attache case (pointedly turning away from Rufus to pick it up) on the floor. Back in the dining room, she opened it up and handed him a sheaf of paper.

"Thanks." He said. Cally finished making brunch and impatiently waited in front of the oven.

At the ding, she took the muffins out of the oven. Rufus, reading through the sheaf of papers, took a quick peak. Part of him felt guilty, but the other part reassured him that it was completely normal to glance at your assistants rear end if she was presenting it to you. Even if it was an accident.

Pursing her lips, Cally set the meal out on the table. She'd caught his little glance, and it both amused and infuriated her.

They ate the meal in silence, Rufus reading through the multi-page press release. He intended on having Cally slim it down later today. The bare bones would be fine; there was a 'Net site ready to go up at the moment of the press conference with more details. He could refer people to that.

Cally was simply eating. She hadn't eaten a good meal in a long time; despite the fact that she could, indeed, cook, she didn't employ the talents often, opting instead to eat take-out in her haste to get her work done. She had no boyfriend; Cally was essentially married to her work. Even if it meant ignoring her boss checking her out. She snorted.

The results were rather spectacular; she had been immersed in her thoughts and hadn't realized that her mouth was full of orange juice.

"Jesus!" Rufus said, jumping back from the table while she coughed. "Are you alright?" He was at her side in an instant; Cally attempted to nod but instead coughed up more orange juice.

Rufus thudded her on the back. More orange juice. It seemed she'd had quite the mouthful when she choked on it.

Her focus became the staccato thumps on her back; it was all she concentrated on. The rest of the world had blacked out.

"Cally!" She heard Rufus say, sharply, and she slid off her chair. Distantly, she wondered if she was decent. Then she passed out.

Rufus, on the other hand, was panicking. He heard Yuffie's bike pull up and he yelled at them to come in while he began CPR, but they never did. Instead, he heard silence and a few moments later, Yuffie's bike speeding off. He swore.

Laying her out flat, Rufus climbed on top of her and began chest compressions, and then mouth-to-mouth. It had been years since he'd taken the class and he wondered if it would even work. He should probably be calling Yuffie or Vincent right now...no doubt they knew how to take care of something like this...

Suddenly Cally coughed into his mouth and her eyes snapped open. Rufus sat up, relieved. "You okay?"

She nodded sleepily, and then glanced down. Rufus turned red and scrambled off of her, but it was worse then; the robe had come somewhat undone in his haste to get her conscious, and one of her breasts was exposed. Averting his eyes, he carefully put it to rights.

"Thanks." She said, dryly.

As if on queue, the dryer beeped. "Your clothes are done." Rufus said. His face was beet red.

Cally slowly stood up and went up the stairs. Rufus began cleaning up the mess they'd made.

If Vincent knew that Rufus had seen his sister's boob, he'd kill the younger man.

Then again, Rufus was fairly certain Cally would mention it to no one. Except possibly her best friend Tasha, who he had never met, but who she talked on the phone with often. But other than that, no one. And Tasha was of no consequence, as he doubted that Tasha would ever meet Vincent.

Rufus was still in cover-your-ass mode when he climbed the stairs to slick his hair back. Obviously having thought that Rufus was downstairs for the day, Cally had undressed in the laundry room, and had slipped into her black thong and pantyhose, but nothing else. Rufus gaped, and ran into his room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

If there was a God, he hated him. Plain and simple. Or else he wouldn't have given him a gorgeous assistant, who just so happened to be related to someone who was not to be crossed.

It was then when Rufus remembered last night; Yuffie and Vincent were probably an item now. Strangely, the thought didn't pain him as much as he'd thought it would.

Must be the sleeping pills.

His phone rang then. Glancing at his clock and noting the time, he answered it. It was Yuffie.

"Soooo, did you hook up with Cally?" Yuffie asked. He could hear Vincent in the background, asking her something. "Shhh, Vinnie. I'm talking to Rufus."

Rufus winced. "No. What made you think that?"

"Oh, come onnn." Yuffie said. "I saw her car in your garage. 'fess up." She sounded like a little kid; happy and spunky. He smiled painfully; Vincent had done that to her.

Rufus recounted the morning's events to her. She sounded disappointed when she spoke.

"That's really too bad. But I guess at least you got to see a breast out of the deal." She laughed, and Rufus could hear Vincent's voice in the background again.

"Oh, come on, Vince, he was giving her CPR. Calm down." Rufus decided not to mention that he'd seen her essentially naked on the way up the stairs.

"I don't know why he's whining; when we thought you guys were busy doing it he wasn't concerned, at all."

More Vincent-esque mutterings. "Oh, whatever, Vince. You didn't care, admit it."

Rufus sighed. His sexual frustrations over Yuffie were not being helped by the fact that she was openly discussing it. "You know, I'd really like it if everyone could just stop reminding me of the fact that I have no sex life. It'd be great. Thanks."

Yuffie snorted. "It's not like you couldn't have one, Rufus. Have you _seen_ the looks in the break room?"

"Yes. I do have _some_ standards, you know." Rufus frowned. "Can we please stop talking about this? I did not, I repeat, I did not, and have have no intention to, have sex with my assistant. I don't even check her out. End of discussion."

A snort from the doorway; Cally was standing there, having obviously opened it to tell him something. "I have no idea who you're talking to, but I think it's a little bit of a lie to say you didn't check me out when I was taking the muffins out this morning." She gestured that she'd be downstairs and left.

Rufus blushed.

"What was that?" Yuffie asked. "You checked her out when she was taking muffins out? She wasn't wearing undies, was she? Ooooooh, Rufus, you were looking at butt." Yuffie chortled. He could hear a dignified Vincent response somewhere in the background. It sounded like he was saying something somewhat justifying Rufus' actions and it made Rufus blush even more.

"Look, we have work to do!" Rufus said, helplessly. Sometimes he felt like a little kid still, and this was one of them. "Yuffie, this is a discussion you are _not_ allowed to have with me."

"So why am I having the discussion?" Yuffie asked, reasonably. "I'd really hoped you'd hooked up with her, you guys would look cute together."

"You just wanted me to get over you." Rufus muttered, sullenly.

"...Yeah, pretty much." Yuffie said. She sounded dejected.

"Oh, come on. You know I didn't mean it that way." Rufus replied. "I mean...you know what I mean." He gestured outward, frustrated, as he headed down his stairs. His hair would wait.

"Yeah, I know." Yuffie said. She still sounded sad. "But really, Rufus. It wouldn't be a bad idea, you know. To keep your eyes out."

"It's a little soon." Rufus said, shortly. He came into the kitchen, where Cally was just putting the last dirty dish in the dishwasher. "I don't feel like talking about this, really, Yuffie. And I especially would like it if you'd keep Vincent out of it."

"Alright. Well, we're just over here waiting for the contractor. I'm going to start assembling my emergency packs so I can make room in the garage. If you guys are bored waiting for the press conference, you're welcome to come over and help. I'll even make Vincent cook up some munchies."

Rufus pondered. "I'll check my schedule. I have to be to the office by four thirty for the press conference, which is at five...but that leaves me about three hours free. I'd rather spend them away from the office, if I can."

"I second that opinion." Cally chimed in. She was now leaning against the counter, blatantly listening to his half of the conversation. Her eyes had narrowed at Vincent's name.

"Alright, Rufus. I will see you later." Yuffie sounded depressed and Rufus felt like an asshole for it.

"Goodbye." He said, slowly. A click at the other end let him know that she'd ended the phone call.

Cally raised her eyebrow at him.

"Yuffie and Vincent came over while you were choking." Rufus explained. "Since I didn't answer the door – I was trying to get you breathing – and your car was in the garage..."

Cally burst out laughing. "They thought..."

"Yeah." Rufus scratched his head. "And then Vincent, despite the fact that he's only known he had a sister for a couple of days, decided to give me a heart attack and pretend to be all protective..."

"What?" Cally's face became a mask of shock. "What do you mean?"

"He's got a really nasty sense of humor." Rufus said, frowning. "I think."

"No, what you said before. He didn't know I _existed_?" Cally looked upset. "He never bothered to look mom up?"

"I don't think so." Rufus said. "When I told him the other day he was pretty shocked." He paused. "Well, as shocked as Vincent ever gets, anyway."

Cally frowned and bit on her bottom lip. The entire effect was actually kind of cute, and Rufus revised his earlier statement about not intending on having sex with her. If the opportunity presented itself...

"Anyway, we have been invited to Yuffie's house to help her assemble her emergency kits for when she goes out on bounties." Rufus felt a little happier about that territory. "Hopefully, that means she's planning on going back to bounty hunting after this is all over; she was really one of my best and I hate to lose her."

Cally reached into her briefcase and brought out her schedule book. "You don't have anything going on today outside of the press conference and the damage control afterward. Nothing that can't be put on hold, anyway; you were supposed to do the report on the food stores, but that can definitely wait until after the conference." She closed it and glanced in his direction.

"What about you?" He asked. The idea of being in her presence for something other than work was not unappealing.

"I'm free as long as you are, boss." She said, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat.

"Alright, then." Rufus said, picking his communique up to send Yuffie a confirmation e-mail. While he was doing that, he told Cally that Yuffie had said something about making Vincent cook.

"He can cook?" Cally said, stunned.

Rufus nodded. "He said your guys' mom taught him how."

"She stopped after she married Dad." Cally said. "She still did at home, of course, but not professionally. She used to be the head chef at a place here in town. It's called Holy now, but it used to be called something else. She said it was a part of her old life." Cally frowned. "I wish I could have known her back _then_. She always seemed kind of depressed."

"Are you sure that's not why you're always so pissed at Vincent?" Rufus asked, looking up from his communique, which was sending the e-mail. "Because he knew her when she was happy and successful?"

"Maybe." Cally shrugged. "It's all the past, now."

"Are you sure you want to go over there?" Rufus asked, gently. "He's going to be there the entire time."

Cally sighed. "I'm gonna have to get to know him some day. Might as well before the world goes to hell in a hand basket. More than normal, anyway." Her face was blank and Rufus realized exactly how much like Vincent she looked; if you threw a red cloak on her she could dress up as him for Halloween. There were some minor differences; for instance, her cheeks were a little bit fatter and her nose a little rounder, and overall she looked more feminine, but it was obvious. He wondered why Yuffie hadn't noticed it earlier.

Then Rufus' brain supplied the image of hordes of small children dressed as Vincent Valentine for Halloween, and he chuckled slightly. His communique beeped; Yuffie had acknowledged the e-mail and had, according to her reply, had sent Vincent to the kitchen to prepare foodstuffs.

"Our arrival has been noted." Rufus said, putting his communique in his pocket. "Shall we?" He gestured for the door.

It was nice outside. Ridiculously nice, considering it was the first of October. He recalled that in two days' time it would be Cally's birthday; in thirteen, Vincent's. He mentally swore and reminded himself to get Cally, at least, a present. Getting Vincent something would be awkward and difficult at best.

Then again, getting Cally something seemed like it'd be difficult too. Their mother had bred interesting children, to say the least.

Rufus opened the garage door. He was struck with the urge to be on his bike. "Let's take the motorcycle." Rufus said, gesturing to it. Cally looked at him with something akin to horror.

"It's nice out." He said, by way of explanation. She still looked terrified.

"...I've never been on a motorcycle before." She admitted. Rufus smiled.

"I'm a good driver. I promise." He said. He drew an X over his chest. "Cross my heart."

Cally giggled nervously. Rufus got on the bike and she – carefully – sat behind him. He had a handle in the back for anyone who wanted to sit behind him, but when she put her arms around his middle, he decided to conveniently neglect to mention that fact. He handed her a helmet from the table near the bike, and put one on himself.

Rufus carefully navigated the bike out of the garage and pushed the button on his key ring to shut the garage door before starting the bike up. Cally made a nervous sound behind him and he said "Hold on" before shooting down the driveway.

Five minutes later they were at Yuffie's house and Cally was squealing in delight. Well, squealing for Cally, which involved a lot of evil-sounding laughter that made Rufus slightly nervous.

Shizuko Valentine-Almasy had produced some _fucked_ up children.

Yuffie was standing at the door, watching the two of them suspiciously as Rufus parked and helped Cally off the bike. Cally was still chortling evilly as she pulled the helmet off and sat it on the seat.

"Right." Yuffie said. "Come on in." She threw Rufus a questioning glance, which Rufus shrugged off.

Yuffie led them into the large living room. Vincent, still being quite superior to an average human being in strength, had moved the crates of supplies in there. Yuffie showed Cally the kits, which she admired for their usefulness. "That'd be a handy thing to have around." She said.

"They are. I cannot count the times they've saved my ass." Yuffie replied. "But I go through them fast. If I'm worried about losing my supplies on the road then I can't pay attention as well as I'd like, so I use fairly cheap supplies that can be replaced."

"Good idea." Rufus wondered if Cally was considering a career in bounty hunting. She was perusing the supplies in genuine interest.

They finished making up Yuffie's first aid kits while Vincent was in the kitchen cooking. Yuffie organized them into something of an assembly line; she had the smaller boxes of suchers, medical tape, and gauze near her and would shove those into the bag and hand it off to Rufus, who would insert the rubbing alcohol and restore materia, and then hand it off to Cally, who would put in the fire materia, close it, and then toss it into an empty crate.

They'd finished those and removed the redundant boxes and crates from the room when Vincent signaled that he'd finished preparing lunch.

Cally pointedly ignored Vincent the entire time, instead engaging Yuffie in a discussion about how she'd developed the emergency kit over the dinner table. Yuffie had some interesting stories about her year and a half of bounty hunting.

"How'd you become a bounty hunter, anyway?" Cally asked, after Vincent had gone into the other room to do the dishes. Vincent, for his part, seemed content to be ignored.

"Oh. That." Yuffie laughed. "Well, um..." She looked at Rufus, because part of this was his tale, too.

Rufus nodded at her.

"Well, about two years ago my dad remarried and his new wife bore him a son." Yuffie said. She looked downward. "All my life he'd groomed me to take over from him after he died, but suddenly, because he had a son, I wasn't heir anymore. That really pissed me off and I took off. I figured, hey, I'm not an heir anymore, so...you know...I'd live it up like I couldn't in the past. I went to parties and just generally tried to have fun. I ran into Rufus at a party in Gongaga." She glanced at Rufus again.

"That was before I'd hired you, Cally." Rufus said. "I didn't think to hire an assistant and so I was basically-"

"Overworked like you wouldn't _believe_." Yuffie said. "He was alternating between coke and speed to stay up long enough to get all of his work done. He looked like hell, trust me."

Rufus nodded when Cally turned to him, her jaw slightly agape.

"Anyway, Yuffie really helped me get my shit together, and when she found out I'd instituted a bounty hunter protocol, met a lot of them and decided that's what she wanted to do." Rufus finished.

"I was the one who told him he needed an assistant." Yuffie said, rolling his eyes. "Obviously, the Turks weren't cutting it. They're good with physical stuff and giving orders, but not administrative stuff. I joined, and about three months later, Rufus hired you."

This all seemed to be a bit much for Cally to take in, that her boss was a recovering addict. She fumbled with her purse and drew out a pack of cigarettes, glancing at Yuffie for permission.

Rufus, for his part, knew that Cally smoked, for he'd given her permission to do so in the office when she'd been getting bitchy for lack of cigarettes during long days. Once he'd done so, her productivity had skyrocketed. The look of vague shock on Yuffie's face told him she'd never noticed.

Yuffie pushed an ashtray toward Cally, nodding. Just then, Vincent walked in.

The four of them went back to the living room, where Vincent had set out the crates of pup tents, canvas bags, MRE's (WRO issue, in three different flavors), flashlights (of the single-use variety with a battery included in the wrapping), first aid kits, and a pallet of water bottles. He'd also set some trays of snacks and Yuffie's cooler, full of drinks, out; Rufus got the feeling that Vincent rather enjoyed catering, although he doubted the dark man would ever admit it.

Yuffie explained how she packed the kits and they all pitched in, tossing the finished kits into the large crates the Restore and Fire materias had come in when they were finished.

They worked in silence, aside from the sounds of occasional snacking, for about an hour; until Cally spoke. She sounded sort of timid, which was odd in his assistant, and Rufus looked up in surprise.

"Why didn't you ever try to find Mom?" Cally asked Vincent. Vincent looked at her in surprise.

"Beg pardon?" He asked, obviously a little startled. They were across the crate of spaghetti MRE's from each other.

"I'm just wondering why you never tried to find Mom after everything that happened." Cally said. Her tone was a little more even, but she still looked a little terrified. "Rufus says you didn't even know she'd remarried."

Vincent actually looked a little embarrassed "I thought she must have perished. It had been a long time, and she had started to fail in health after my father disappeared."

Cally nodded. "She had breast cancer. That's how she met Dad; they had chemotherapy together."

Vincent looked startled.

Then Cally, feeling bolder, continued. "She was alive, though. She just died about a year ago. Dad went just after her. She would have liked to see you before she went. She talked about you and your dad a lot."

"She never tried to contact me." Vincent said.

"She thought you didn't want anything to do with us." Cally said. At this point, Yuffie and Rufus had stopped working entirely and were staring at the two of them.

Vincent frowned. "As I said, I thought-"

"I know what you thought. But you didn't even try?"

Vincent shook his head regretfully. "No. I did not."

Cally frowned. "That's too bad. She got a lot worse after Meteor. Everyone knew you were alive, then. She used to stare off, wondering if you'd show up. But you never did." She laughed. "I remember when she told me about you and Grimoire. I was about six. After that, I had an imaginary friend named Vincent, and I think Mom enjoyed that phase. It was...like you'd come home after all of those years." She sighed and looked toward the window. "I wish you'd have looked her up. I could have used a brother when they died."

Vincent didn't seem to know how to respond to that, so he looked down and began packing the emergency pack he was working on when she'd interrupted him. Cally took that as the end of the conversation, and continued on herself.

Yuffie turned toward Rufus, her mouth agape. Rufus looked just as stunned as she was. Cally hadn't even requested time off when her parents died. He'd learned of it in the obituaries. It seemed like she'd thrown herself into her work, instead of asking for help.

They really were very similar. Yuffie seemed to have come to this conclusion as well, because she was staring at Cally and Vincent in turns. They both had the same look of non-concentration on their face; it was exactly the same, down to the way their eyebrows furrowed and their jaws clenched.

Then Cally dropped her finished kit into the box and left the room. Rufus made to go after her, but Vincent stopped him.

"I will go." He said. He didn't explain how he'd make his sister feel better, and Rufus thought about demanding it of him, but he kept his mouth shut.

He and Yuffie quietly finished the last few packs and cleaned up the living room. Then he heard Yuffie sigh.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I dunno. I just feel bad for both of them." She said, flopping down on a couch. "This whole time they thought they were alone, and they really weren't. It seems like an awful waste of time."

Rufus nodded. "It was. It was a waste of time. A huge one." He sighed too. "I guess they can start making up for lost time now..."

**- - - - - **

Cally, being unfamiliar with Yuffie's house, had gone into the dining room, the only room she was familiar with. Her arms were folded in front of her on the table, and she was crying into them.

There was a swish of cape, and suddenly Vincent was there next to her. He sat. They sat quietly for a few moments before he spoke.

"I cannot take back the fact that I never tried to find you." Vincent said, quietly. "It was very callous of me to simply assume that my mother was dead, but it was better than the alternative."

"Alternative?" Cally's head shot up and she glared at him; her eyeliner was running and Vincent offered her a box of tissues that he'd picked up from the hallway on the way in. She accepted it mutely.

"The alternative that she was alive and now had a monster for a son." Vincent said, gravely. "You must be aware..."

"That you could change into demons?" Cally asked. "I think the whole world knows. Mom knew. She didn't _care_, Vincent. She just wanted her son back."

Vincent sighed and glanced out the back door. "I suppose, in hindsight, that it was not a very considerate thing to do, but at the time, I thought it best. Had I known that she'd remarried...and started a new family...Well, I cannot say what I'd have done, but I may have dropped her a line."

"She nearly had a heart attack when Shinra released the pictures of AVALANCHE." Cally said. "When she saw your picture and name under 'MOST WANTED.' Then, at the end, when everyone knew what was going on, she was so proud. She thought you'd come home to Kalm. We lived in the same house up until the day she died. I still live there." She sighed. "Your room. She always kept it the same, just in case you came home. For the longest time she kept the master bedroom the same, in case Grimoire came home. I think that not knowing was worse than anything. Dad had to work her so hard to convince her to go out with him."

Vincent was looking at his hands. "If I could take it back, trust me when I say that I would. But the past is the past. I cannot change it."

"You're a really awkward person, do you know that?" Cally asked. She set the box of tissues on the table. "Most people would be happy that they have a long-lost sister. You ignore her and try to act like she's not there, and then fumble when she talks to you."

Vincent shrugged. "I can't say I'm innocent of that, but you have to admit that it is not an everyday occurrence"

Cally laughed. "No, I suppose not." Then she looked sad again. "I just...you had her during the best years of her life, Vincent. She was so happy with you, and Grimoire. I see the pictures from back then and she's smiling, really smiling. And she was happy enough with Dad and me, but...you guys had her when she was at her prime. She gave up cooking when she married Dad, you know. Like she'd finally given up on her old life. And for about a month, after Meteor, she was really, truly happy again. When she realized you weren't going to come, it was such a blow. And yeah, she never did try to find you. I guess that's her fault too. She could have. But you had the bigger duty."

Vincent nodded. "That is true." He looked at her. "If I had known, I might have made the effort. Although by then you were an adult already. I don't think I could have been your imaginary friend. I suppose I looked quite fearsome."

Cally smirked; she looked so much like himself at that point that Vincent was actually quite startled. "You did. I remember that I was terrified when I saw the pictures Shinra put out. I hoped you'd never come home. But I changed my mind when I saw how hopeful she was."

They sat there in a companionable silence for a while, before Vincent stood up.

"We should probably get back to the others." He said. "They're probably wondering if we've killed each other by now."

Cally laughed. "Did you just crack a joke? How...unVincent-like."

"It happens." Vincent said, smiling a little. He held out a hand to help her up, and then the two of them headed back toward the living room, where Yuffie and Rufus had been sitting next to each other, looking at one of Yuffie's photo albums. It was one she'd put together after the Deepground incident. She was pointing out a picture of AVALANCHE and the Turks, with Rufus and Shelke, as well as Barret's wife. This was one she'd taken herself, so she was absent, but you could see all of Vincent's face; he was standing in a corner, arms crossed, looking disinterestedly out at the rest of the people gathered.

Yuffie glanced at the two of them as they came in. "Oh, look, Rufus. I win. No body parts." Rufus grumbled and dug a wad of gil out of his pocket.

"You were _betting_ on us beating the crap out of each other?" Cally was incredulous.

"No." Rufus corrected her. "I bet that you'd get physical and he wouldn't fight back because he's Vincent. I thought you'd rip his arm off or something. Sibling rivalry, and all."

"And I bet that you would have a civilized conversation because Vincent is Vincent." Yuffie said, reasonably. She accepted the wad of gil. "Not that this is a drop in the bloody pot, but thanks, Rufus."

Vincent sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward.

Cally just laughed.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie and Vincent were on-hand for the press conference. Rufus announced to the world that in 20 days time the alignment would occur, and what would happen. The furor of the press and other people assembled peaked before Cally, as Rufus' capable assistant, shouted for order to be restored.

"Fortunately, we discovered that this would happen and have been taking steps to ensure that the population will remain protected." Rufus continued, as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Specialized cave systems have been fortified and stocked with food enough for the local populations. Every town has an evacuation center set up in one of these systems."

"Sir, what about people who don't want to leave their homes?" A reporter called out.

"Of course, people who feel that their homes are more than enough to withstand an attack are welcome to stay there." Rufus acknowledged. "We cannot force an evacuation upon them. I must strongly urge that anyone wishing to do so reinforce their structures and cover up their windows and exits for the onslaught. Centers have been set up within towns as distribution for supplies during the onslaught. Distribution will take place the day following the attack, which is slated to begin shortly after 4 p.m. on October 20. Up until that point, however, monster attacks will increase in frequency, so I also urge everyone to stay indoors as much as possible, and to keep weapons on them at all times. Voluntary evacuation will begin at noon October 18. There is enough food within the fortified caves to last several days, so people need not worry about shortages of supplies in making the decision. The caves are currently being made comfortable for prolonged human habitation. A list of gathering points for evacuations, and other suggestions, such as leaving behind valuables in a secure position to prevent theft, is available on the 'Net site that has just gone live. I strongly suggest that everyone take a look at it."

"What if we want to fight?" Someone called out. Yuffie looked for them, but she got a feeling that it had been Tifa.

Rufus looked around too, but he couldn't locate the source of the voice. "Unless you are skilled at fighting monsters, I don't suggest fighting them yourselves. We are currently putting together squads of elite WRO members to patrol the towns with special reinforced armor and weapons." Rufus gestured toward Vincent and Yuffie, standing off to the side. "Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine, both former members of AVALANCHE, have also volunteered their services. If you feel that you are skilled at fighting, well, I would welcome you into our ranks. Frankly, we need the help."

The pitch rose to a frenzy once again. Finally, a voice called out "But he's a monster too! He'll kill us just like all of the others!" Yuffie could not recognize this voice, at all, and she glared about her, arms crossed.

Vincent crossed his arms as well, but he remained impassive. His very demeanor screamed "guilty as charged," and it pissed Yuffie off.

"You're just going to sit there and let them talk about you like that?" She asked, loudly.

"I cannot force them to accept my help." Vincent replied. He was coolly watching over the crowd, which was quickly becoming frantic, despite Cally's attempts to calm them.

"Hell yes, you can!" Yuffie said, shouting to be heard over the crowd. She advanced on him. "Stick up for yourself, dammit!"

Vincent regarded her evenly. "No, I don't think that would be very wise right now." He said. He gestured out toward them. "If they want someone to blame, they may as well blame me. It will take some of the pressure off of Rufus, and it does not bother me."

Suddenly someone female was talking into the microphone. "Excuse me, if you could all shut the _fuck_ up, I think I have some information pertinent to this discussion."

Vincent and Yuffie both turned to find Cally standing at the podium. The crowd was silent, and had been since the word "Fuck."

Cally coughed. "Thank you." She said, politely. She pointed toward Vincent. "The argument is that Vincent Valentine is a monster, correct?"

Yuffie spotted Tifa in the back. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring, outright, at Vincent.

"Well, I'm going to beg to differ." Cally said. "He's undergone surgery to remove the monsters that infected him. He's just as human as you or I. Physically, at least." She glanced at Vincent, apologetically. "You can place blame wherever you'd like, but the simple truth of the matter is that there isn't anyone to blame except gravity and physics. This is happening, and we are trying our damnedest to keep you people safe. It'd be great if I could go to bed tonight without having to worry about the lives of my boss," and she pointed at Rufus. "And my brother." And she pointed at Vincent. "So if you'd all knock it off, we can get this problem fixed, now, so you all make it through this in one piece. Stop being assholes, and start being part of the solution."

She glared at the crowed and stalked offstage. Rufus was staring at her in something akin to awe.

Vincent and Yuffie crossed the stage to meet up with them. Yuffie stopped at the podium and rested her hand on her gun, threateningly.

"Besides, if anyone fucks with him, they have to deal with _me_." She narrowed her eyes and continued offstage.

The crowd went _nuts_.

"You know, I really didn't intend on inciting a riot when I did this press conference." Rufus said. He was hugging Cally, who had stunned him, as they listened to the noise coming from outside. "This might be a big problem."

Yuffie shrugged.

"Hey!" Another voice said outside. Someone had climbed up to the podium. Vincent's eyes widened. If someone were going to cheer the crowd on, it really could become a riot, of epic proportions. The four of them turned and ran back toward the stage.

Some familiar faces greeted them. Cloud and Tifa, as well as the rest of AVALANCHE (Minus Reeve, who was working with the WRO at the moment), with Marlene and Denzel, were all standing onstage, looking at the crowd rebelliously.

"I'm talkin' here, shut up!" Cid said. He was the one speaking on the podium. "Vince is a member of AVALANCHE, and if anyone's gotta problem with him, they take it to us." He said. "Any takers?"

The crowd shut up instantly. AVALANCHE, as a whole, looked pretty obstinate at the moment.

"That's what I thought. What that girl said made sense, people. Stop pointin' fingers and start helpin'. If you can fight, sign up at Shinra HQ. If you can't, get your ass to an evac point on the 18th. End of story!" He crossed his arms and glared at the crowd. "But if I hear about anyone attackin' Vince or Rufus or anyone, they're gonna get my size 11 boot up their ass, you hear?" The crowd was silent.

Vincent was staring at the scene. He didn't look touched, but Yuffie could tell that he was. She smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

He blinked.

"You're forgettin' that the man you wanna tear into pieces is the same guy who saved your asses seven years ago, too." Cid pointed out. "Keep that in mind before you go callin' for blood." He threw a cigarette offstage and walked toward Rufus, Cally, Yuffie and Vincent. The crowd was murmuring, but it was the kind of noise you heard when a group of people was splitting into groups and going home. They were dispersing.

Yuffie dropped Vincent's hand and ran at Cid, throwing her arms around him. "That was _awesome_. Seriously. It was the most awesome thing I've ever seen. It even beats out Reeve with a rifle. I mean that."

Laughter erupted out of the pilot's smoke-hardened throat. "I'm glad you think so, Yuff." He ruffled her hair. "Now, then." He looked at Rufus. "I'd say we have a job to do, don't we?"

Rufus looked at him, a little confused. He was still hugging Cally, but it didn't seem to be a loverly thing; he'd hugged her and so much had happened in between then that they'd simply forgotten to separate; they did so now.

"What Cid is sayin' is that AVALANCHE is gonna kick some monster ass!" Barret exclaimed. Marlene did a weird little pumping-fist-jumping thing. Yuffie could have sworn she'd done that exact same thing ten years ago, right before the fight with Sephiroth.

"I don't think there's a better group of people to fight." Cloud said. His voice was soft. "I doubt there are many people on the planet who have the experience we do when it comes to battling monsters, in any form."

Nanaki let loose with a roar. Everyone looked at him.

"The tone seemed appropriate for a battle cry." He said, apologetically. Yuffie giggled.

At that point, AVALANCHE seemed to notice how Vincent was sort of hovering around Yuffie in an overprotective manner. No one said anything, but a few eyebrows were raised.

"Well, I say we head over to my place." Yuffie said. "We can use that as a base of operations. I've got food out the wazoo and all sorts of spare equipment that should be delivered..." She looked at her wristwatch. "In about an hour. It's fortified, too."

Tifa looked around. "How are all of us going to fit in your apartment?"

Yuffie laughed and gestured for everyone to follow her. "You'll see."

**- - - - - **

Within two hours the much-augmented group, consisting of Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Nanaki, Reeve, Rufus, Cally, Barret's wife (whom he reminded Yuffie was named "Edith"), Shera, Quistis, Denzel, Marlene (who had just passed the age of majority, much to Barret's chagrin), the Turks, and Cally's friends Tasha and Kenny (who were married) were standing in Yuffie's immense living room. There was enough room for them and then some.

"You didn't tell me you'd moved." Tifa said, accusingly. There was a hint of wonder in her voice.

"Perfect base of operations, though. I've got room for everyone, and it's secure." Yuffie said, happily. "I've even got room for the kids, if we want them to come to a secure place. A garage big enough for everyone's bikes, food to last a month...we're set to fight, guys."

A general consensus was reached that the group would room and plan at Yuffie's place. Rufus closed his house up (the contractor had canceled on him after a sudden deluge of calls for reinforcements), assured it would remain safe so long as no one was in there.

The remainder of the night was loud and tiring. Yuffie found herself glad that her nearest neighbor was most of a mile away, so they wouldn't be waking them. Mentally, she blessed Vincent for having thought ahead to have the beds done up by that cleaning company, and the bathrooms and bedrooms stocked. She was making a list of room assignments and was reassured that every room was clean (even Vincent's, which he quietly vacated during the furor) and stocked for occupation.

Finally, around ten, everyone had their belongings and children gathered in the living room, and were looking at Yuffie expectantly.

"Okay, guys, here's the deal. My room, the master bedroom, is room one. The room next to me is room two, and so forth, down to room ten at the end of the hall, and then up to room twenty down the other hallway." She said. "Each bedroom one through ten has one king sized bed and a bathroom; from eleven to twenty it's two full-sized beds and a bathroom. Alright?"

Nods of understanding.

"Okay. I've got Rufus and Cally in room two – Cally, Vincent and I swapped out the king for two full's so you and Rufus can have a room, but I think that it's best that Rufus has access to his assistant, since he's so scatter-brained otherwise." Cally nodded and grinned. "I have Tasha and Kenny in room three."

Tasha, Cally's aforementioned best friend, nodded. Her hair, nearly as long and dark as Yuffie's, was tied back in a neat ponytail. "We brought our motorcycles. Cally suggested it."

Yuffie smiled. "Got lotsa room in the garage. You can park them later if you'd like." She looked at her list. "Okay, Cloud, Tifa, you two are in room four, and I put the orphans in rooms sixteen through twenty. Alright?" She looked up at Tifa, who had a relieved expression on her face. She'd been worried about the six orphans she had adopted throughout the years. She couldn't have kids, but she treated them as if they were her own anyway.

"Cid, Shera, I have you guys in room five." She looked at their six-year-old son, James, who Shera was holding. "I gave James his own room, in room fifteen, over by Tifa's kids, so they'll all have someone to play with." Shera smiled at her.

"Barret, you and Edith will be in room six." She glanced over at Barret. "Marlene will have room ten and Denzel room nine."

Barret looked happy enough that his daughter, despite being a legal adult now, would have a separate room from her boyfriend. Marlene looked rebellious.

"Reeve, you're in seven. Red, Vincent set up a pulley system in room eight for you, so you can open and close the door without having to ask someone to help." Nanaki looked pleased. "You're welcome to have one of the beds in there if you want, but otherwise, just let me know and I'll put the pillows on the floor and shit."

"As for the Turks...I put Reno and Rude together in room thirteen, which I think is apt because they're bad luck." She smirked at the two Turks. Reno rolled his eyes. No one could really tell what Rude was thinking. "I stuck you guys together because you _always _room together." Rude nodded.

"Tseng, you have room fourteen, so you can keep room thirteen out of trouble."

Everyone giggled at that – last time there had been a joint venture between AVALANCHE and Shinra, Reno had caused an estimated 10,000 gil in damage. "And by the way, Reno – this is one hotel room you cannot trash." At least he had the grace to look chagrined.

"Annnd...Elena, you're in room twelve. Quistis, I stuck you in room eleven. I gave you the king sized bed we took out of room two, so you'd have more room for your research table." Quistis looked grateful. She had been called in by Rufus because of her superior knowledge about chemical reactions; she'd be making light bombs to blind monsters with, and any other chemical weapons she could think of in the 19 days they had to prepare.

"Okay, and last but not least, we've got jobs." Yuffie winced. "Who likes cleaning?"

Shera and Quistis both raised their hands. Yuffie's eyebrows shot up, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, she said "Okay, then. Shera, Tifa and Edith can split crèche duties watching the kids, in the rec room, and I'll take a shift too if need be; Shera and Quistis can clean up the public areas every now and then. Everyone needs to keep their own rooms clean, including the kids. Clean means livable, not immaculate." She smiled at the group. "Who can cook?"

Cally, Tasha, and Tifa all raised their hands.

"Alright, then, you three can help Vincent with meals." Yuffie nodded. "He's gonna need help feeding this horde." She looked back down at her list. "Cloud, Reeve, Kenny, Cid, Barret and Rufus, you guys are in charge of weapons. That crazy load of them that got delivered a few hours ago is in the small garage, along with a bunch of racks and shelves. It's up to you guys to get it organized." She laughed. "I, expectably, will be organizing the materia. That's also in the second garage, so you guys will be seeing a lot of me. I need the Turks to get maps of Kalm and map out sectors; everyone who actually can fight needs to let me know so we can sign up for that and then the Turks can assign us to sectors, preferably in groups of at least two?" She eyed Rufus appealingly, and he nodded. "Quistis is to spend the rest of her time developing bombs and such. Red, after Reeve is done helping set up the shelves you can confiscate him and you guys keep doing the research you've been doing. Okay?" Nanaki regarded her through his one eye, accepting this duty. "Denzel, Marlene, you two are going to help anywhere you're needed, and every day we're going to exercise and train. You two absolutely must be there if you're going to fight, or I'm going to side with Barret and Tifa on this and not let you. Okay?" The two adolescents smirked and nodded.

"Alright, everyone. Let's get settled in and then we'll have a very late dinner. Okay?" Yuffie said. Everyone started to leave, when Cid's cough stopped them in their tracks.

"Uh..." He scratched his head. "Where's Vince stayin'?" The subject of the question was actually in the kitchen, preparing a very large dinner for this ragtag group. He'd started a large fowl cooking as soon as they'd arrived at Yuffie's house and assured her it would be done very soon. He'd been preparing side dishes and other things to eat throughout the night, in between the chores that needed attending to. And now he was the subject of a very sore discussion, and wasn't even there to defend himself.

The rest of the group seemed to wait for the answer.

"I can room up with Red and Vincent can have my room..." Reeve began.

"That's not necessary." Yuffie said, looking down toward her feet. "Vincent will be staying with me."

There was an awkward silence.

"Oh... Oh!" Tifa's eyes widened. She clapped her hands over her mouth.

"You mean..." Cid began frantically searching through his pockets. "God. Someone give me a smoke."

Yuffie snorted and tossed him her pack.

Reeve crossed his arms and watched as Cid lit his cigarette, and then coughed politely.

"Aw, dammit. Fine." Cid fished his wallet out and dug out some gil notes, which he gave to Reeve.

Yuffie watched the exchange through narrowed eyes. "You _bet_ on me?"

"Now you know how it feels." Cally said, pouting.

"To answer the questions ahead of time, yes, Vincent and I are...an item." Yuffie said, crossing her arms. She was a little nervous and shaky, but if they wanted to cooperate with her (or stay in her beautiful house), they wouldn't argue. "No one is allowed to question this, or bitch about it. _Comprende_?"

Barret glowered at her but he didn't say anything. He glanced at Rufus, expecting some sort of outburst, as Rufus' crush on Yuffie was public knowledge, but to his indignation, Rufus seemed to already be aware of this.

"Alright, then. Let's go get everyone's stuff stashed and then we can go into the formal dining room. Thank God I got a lot of tables." Yuffie said. She sighed.

That had gone a lot smoother than she'd expected it would.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie had not had a chance to use the formal dining room yet. Instead of outfitting it with one or two long trestle tables, she'd put a lot of smaller, elegant round tables in. It was set up similar to a cafeteria in a company break room, only it was furnished much nicer. Each table sat between three to six people.

While Yuffie was busy assigning rooms, Vincent was setting out the meal he'd prepared on a long buffet-style table along the side of the room. It was a Thanksgiving-style feast, but he figured it was the best way to feed a horde like this on short notice, since most of the dishes could be set to cook and ignored for several hours. A large roast chocobo had been carved and set on a platter; there was stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and carrots, rolls and butter, and even some pies of the instant pudding variety. Each table had carafes of water and cups set out (Mrs. Pruett had left a great deal of those behind when she moved, which Vincent blessed her for), and there were some long plastic catering trays filled with ice, and cans of soda and juice, set out at the banquet table.

He would be exhausted but he was too hungry to really think about it. He hadn't eaten since their late lunch with Rufus and Cally that afternoon.

That was one thing that had definitely changed in the short period of time since he'd had the beasts removed. He had to eat more often. It was really quite annoying.

"It looks great, Vince." A voice said from the other end of the hall. He swung around; Yuffie was at the doorway, leaning against the frame and smiling.

"Is everyone ready?" He asked.

"Nearly. I just sent them off to the rooms to get their stuff unpacked, and then they'll be down." She smirked a bit. "Cid asked where you'd be staying."

Vincent's eyes widened a bit.

"I told them you'd be staying with me. No one voiced any complaints. They can kiss my ass if they feel it's necessary." She walked over to him and leaned into his chest. Exhaustion was oozing out of her small frame. Vincent put his arms around her shoulders, thankful he'd exchanged his cloak outfit for one of Yuffie's black T-shirts and slacks outfit. It was much easier to hold her in.

"I'm nearly 27 years old, Vince, and some of them still think I'm the same old 16-year-old girl they met back then." She sighed and hugged him. "I'm glad I've got someone who doesn't think I'm a little kid."

Vincent didn't say anything in response. He just closed his eyes and held her.

A cough interrupted the moment. Reeve, Cid and Shera were standing at the door. "Sorry." Reeve said, clearly embarrassed "I just thought I'd let you know that most everyone's ready to eat."

"Oh." Yuffie and Vincent separated. "Well, then, everyone can come in and serve themselves as they're ready. Vince, we better get a plate in before these jerks eat it all." She grinned. Vincent could tell she was happy; there was nothing she seemed to like more than to be around her friends.

The two of them, and Cid, Shera and Reeve, served themselves and sat before anyone else had a chance to come in. Yuffie and Vincent sat by themselves at a table for six.

After everyone came in it became noisy and Yuffie seemed a lot more buoyant. Cally, Rufus, Tasha and Kenny sat at the table with them.

Tasha put her hands over her ears. "I'm not sure how you can smile. It's so loud in here."

"Yeah, everyone's together. I love that." Yuffie giggled. "Quite the crowd, though. I added it up. Including Vince and me, we've got 28 people here. That's also including all of the kids. It was empty with just the two of us here." She looked at Vincent. "I like that this house is serving a purpose. And it's all reinforced now, so we'll all be safe."

"I think everyone took your...announcement well." Cally said. She enunciated clearly enough around a mouth full of roast chocobo. "Now you know, though. Don't bet on people, because they might be betting on you."

Vincent turned to Yuffie. "Someone bet on us?"

Yuffie giggled. "Yeah. Cid and Reeve. Reeve said I'd hook up with you, Cid thought I'd end up with Rufus. You should have seen the look on Cid's face." She chortled, and spooned some mashed potatoes and gravy in to her mouth.

Despite how much food Vincent had managed to prepare on short notice, it all got eaten. Even the rolls. There was remarkably little to put away afterward, but Yuffie helped him clean up. Tasha and Cally pitched in, too.

Cally and Tasha were carrying on a distinct, separate conversation with each other while they cleaned.

"Yeah, well, I just got mine back from being serviced, and the asshole messed up the barrel somehow. It's aim is all off. I'm going to have to fix it myself. Thank God I kept my good one with me. If he'd ruined that, I'd be mad as hell." Tasha was saying.

"I never let anyone else service mine." Cally replied. "Although I have sent in the blades before, because it's really hard to screw _those_ up."

"What are you _talking_ about?" Yuffie said. Confusion was written on her face.

Cally laughed. "Guns and wrist-blades. Tasha stupidly sent hers to someone to get it serviced instead of doing it herself."

"You can shoot?" Yuffie asked, excitedly. She wanted to have someone to talk guns with – Vincent was a good shot, but he couldn't explain how he did what he did. It was the result, pure and simple, of the conditioning he'd received as a Turk, and it was so ingrained in him that teaching and explaining were impossible.

"Are you kidding me?" Tasha said. Her expression was incredulous. "I grew up in the slums of Midgar. Of course I know how to shoot. Tifa's teacher trained me in martial arts, too. You have to know how to protect yourself. And Kenny, well, he was in line to be a Turk for a while, but Elena got promoted before him, and then Shinra collapsed. We both know how to fight. That's why Cally called us."

"Yeah, well, I learned real fast that if I'm going to be the assistant of one of the most hated men on the planet, I'd better start packing." Cally said, rolling her eyes. She lifted up the top of her skirt-suit, exposing a neat harness and handgun. "We both have a bit of a collection."

Vincent watched the three women chatter about weapons as they cleaned. He was bone-tired, but listening to them discuss aiming strategies and bullet sizes and types was almost amusing enough to stay awake to listen to.

Almost. Vincent put the last dish in the dishwasher and turned it on, and then yawned. He excused himself from what he was sure would be "a fascinating discussion," as he put it, and headed upstairs.

Rufus caught him on the way there. "Hey, come here." He said, gesturing. "I've got something for you."

Vincent frowned and followed him. He wondered if he was in for something bad, considering all that had happened the previous night.

"I told you, right, that WRO and Shinra Elite squads have been out, prepping caves for human habitation, right?" Rufus said, opening the door to the room he and Cally would be sharing. Vincent nodded, and made a verbal affirmation when he realized that Rufus had been unable to hear him.

"Yes."

"Well, some of the squads found some things and sent them on to me. I got them today, just before the press conference." Rufus looked delighted with himself. He opened a box that was laying on his bed. "I figured you might want to see them."

In the box lay Death Penalty and his gauntlet.

Vincent blinked. He'd given both items up as lost causes. They looked as good as new, although the gauntlet was covered in a fine layer of dust.

Rufus picked them up and offered them to Vincent, smirking. "Not often you can startle Vincent Valentine. I had to take the chance."

Vincent mutely accepted them. He set the gauntlet on Rufus' desk and carefully inspected the Death Penalty. All that was needed were bullets, which he would have to forge himself, as Death Penalty took...a special caliber of bullet. But it seemed in perfect working order.

Rufus was leaning against the nightstand, arms crossed, smirking. He was obviously feeling quite smug and pleased with himself.

"Thank you." Vincent said, looking up at the younger man. "This means...a great deal to me."

"I figured as much." Rufus said. "Now, because I know how a gunslinger feels about these things, go clean the damn thing off. You know you're itching to."

Vincent shot him a small smile and all but dashed out of the room, snagging the gauntlet up in the process.

Yuffie found him in their room, about thirty minutes later, after she and the other two girls had exhausted the topic of gunlore for the night, and unpacked the dishes to their respective places. He was in bed, in just his pants, staring at the gun and gauntlet, both freshly cleaned.

"Hey, Vin – Hey! That's Death Penalty!" Yuffie said, her hands flying up toward her mouth. "Where the hell did you find it?"

"Rufus gave them to me." He said, not taking his eyes off of them. "Some of the crews preparing caves for the alignment found them and sent them to him."

"Oh, Vinnie, that's awesome!" Yuffie bounded toward him and hugged him. He leaned into the hug, but said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Yuffie asked, genuinely concerned. He was not displaying much emotion, considering two huge parts of him had returned, and from such an unexpected source.

"Today...has been..." Vincent frowned. He was trying to find the words. "I was reunited with a sister I had never known I had, and she forgave me my sins...and despite everything that has happened...everyone defended me, in front of the entire planet... And then Rufus gives me back my weapons despite the fact that I stole his love from him." His frown deepened. "All of my experiences with humanity teaches me that people do not normally do these things. It's..." He sighed. "Heartening, I suppose."

"Aw, Vince." Yuffie hugged him tighter. "You're just feeling touched, is all. You're not used to people thinking of you. But you have friends and, you know, a girlfriend now. You have to get used to it. Plus, AVALANCHE...well, they _are_ an uncommonly good group of people. You'd think that you would have learned to expect that of them...after all, how many times have we saved the planet?"

"Including this time?" Vincent asked, rhetorically. Yuffie laughed.

Vincent was still brooding, though, and Yuffie couldn't bring him out of his funk. So she stopped trying and just crawled into bed with him, and held onto him.

Finally he spoke again. "I just...something is missing. And I just figured out what it is."

Yuffie looked up at him. "We already all knew. But Shelke has returned to the planet, and besides, if she hadn't...you know...we wouldn't have even known about this ahead of time. Her death let us know something was up. Her death directly led to me finding you and us realizing what was wrong, Vince. If it weren't for that one incident, the Planet would be destroyed. I think she'd like to go out with a bang like that, you know?"

Vincent nodded, but he was still obviously depressed.

Yuffie sat up and kissed him on the cheek, lightly. "Let's get some sleep, Vince. We can think about this tomorrow, after we've rested. It's been a very long day."

"It has." Vincent leaned over to the bedside table and turned off the lamp, and then lay down. He could hear Yuffie's breathing steady out into a sleeping pattern.

"It has been a very, very long day." Vincent whispered into the darkness. "Tomorrow...will be worse."

_Author's Notes: I know I said I wouldn't be putting myself in, but hey, I'm just a small supporting character here! Haha. No, really, I just wanted to fight._

_I'm really sorry this took so long to get up – I lost my Internet, and then I got Internet back but I didn't have wireless so I couldn't upload the chapter from my laptop, which is where I do all of my writing. But I have a new, working router and hopefully things will pick up._

_Chapter nine is half done. I got sidetracked by a new story, a one-shot. It's finished and hopefully I can start focusing on this story more now. My beta-reader Cally came out to visit me and that was also slightly distracting – but I'm back!_

_Read? Review!_


	9. I Walk Alone

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Nine – I Walk Alone**_

_Everybody, everything I've known  
No one ever taught me how to stand up on my own  
Had to learn it from the one who let me go  
Now I walk alone  
Yeah, I walk alone_

-- Oleander,_I Walk Alone_

**Warning: Lemon.**

Vincent was right.

The next day was hectic. Not, however, for the reasons he'd thought. No, the next day was hectic because Rufus informed them that the day after that was Cally's birthday.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Yuffie said, her jaw slack. There was a vaguely-organized chaos surrounding them and she gestured toward it. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

They were in the kitchen, which was mostly empty except for Vincent, who was cleaning up after breakfast, and Yuffie, who had come in to see if he needed help. Rufus had cornered them to let them know.

"I didn't remember until yesterday, and then...well, you know." Rufus shrugged.

Yuffie looked at Vincent, who shrugged. He didn't celebrate birthdays; never had, really, after he'd left his parents' house.

So Yuffie sighed and threw her hands up. "Alright, Rufus, it is your job to find out what kind of food she wants for her birthday dinner." She smirked. "I am going to have to make up for Vincent's lack of interest in his sister's birthday. Don't let her know we know."

"Sure thing." Rufus said. Whistling a little tune to himself, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked out of the kitchen, smirking.

Throughout the morning, Yuffie talked to the occupants of the house. Tasha was delighted; apparently, Cally's birthday was a closely-guarded secret, and she jumped at the chance to throw a party.

"Kenny and I are from Costa del Sol originally." She said. "In heritage, that is. And you know the del Solians – any excuse to throw a party."

So Tasha and Yuffie divided up to spread the good news and let everyone know not to tell Cally. Work continued; the weapons racks got about halfway assembled, and Quistis came up with the prototype for an acid bomb that Rufus seemed to like. But in between all of that, other planning was occurring.

The occupants of the house left in shifts to buy presents and party supplies, all of which were hidden within Yuffie's storage rooms. Tasha, who knew Cally best out of everyone, and Rufus were both on hand to accept or reject items.

By the end of the day, a lot had been accomplished, both preparations-wise, and relating to Cally and her birthday.

"I am not sure if she will be pleased or not." Vincent said, quietly, that night. Cally had gone to bed early, for a change, and they were preparing as much of tomorrow's breakfast for everyone as they could. Vincent had a large pitcher of scrambled eggs, seasoned, with peppers and potatoes in them. He capped it tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Yuffie prepared flour tortillas in stacks, separating them with cooking parchment and sealing them in plastic wrap. Tasha was shredding cheese, and Tifa was cutting up other assorted vegetables and whatever else went in breakfast burritos, and storing them in airtight Tupperware.

Rufus, on the other hand, was searching through a battered cook book for something that they could make Cally for breakfast. This was going to require finesse; Yuffie would have to wake up before Cally, and sneak into the room using all of her ninja skills to wake Rufus. This was going to be difficult, as Cally normally awoke between four and five in the morning.

"She did have a really hard day today." Tasha said, narrowing her eyes at the cheese grater, which had become clogged. "Maybe she'll sleep in a little."

"Here's hoping." Yuffie said.

Rufus nodded. His nose was still in the cook book; suddenly he let out a frustrated sigh and slammed it shut. "This is hopeless. I got a little bit out of her, but all she said was that she likes cinnamon rolls and hazelnut coffee, which she hasn't been able to get for a while because the coffee place she got them at doesn't open as early as she gets up." He threw a rude gesture in the direction of the book. "That thing has no recipes for cinnamon rolls or icing or anything. And I have no idea what hazelnut coffee is, I just drink regular coffee every day."

Vincent finished preparing and putting away the eggs and Yuffie's flour tortillas, and then crossed to the other side of the kitchen. Reaching into Yuffie's "junk drawer," he brought out a piece of paper and a pencil.

In neat, spiky handwriting, he began writing down a recipe. Yuffie peered over his shoulder.

Once he was done, he handed it to Rufus. Yuffie switched to reading over Rufus' shoulder.

"Ooooh, that looks gooood." Yuffie said, putting her hands on her stomach. "I'm starving, and now I want cinnamon rolls. Thanks, Vince."

"My apologies." Vincent said. He turned to Rufus, who was looking at him. "This was my mother's recipe; I am sure she will find them satisfactory."

Rufus frowned. "Now I'm hungry, and I want cinnamon rolls, too."

Tasha laughed. "Is it that good a recipe?" She crossed the room and looked over Rufus' shoulder, too. "Oh, wow. I vote we make up a batch right now."

Tifa laughed, and she too crossed the room. "I second that motion." She said, once she'd glanced at the recipe.

Yuffie looked at Vincent appealingly, and he sighed. "Fine. We can prepare the dough for tomorrow, as well, and make a large batch of the icing."

The group was up late, making dough and cinnamon mix and icing. A batch of dough, shaped into rolls, and the remaining cinnamon mix and icing were stored, capped, in the refrigerator to go on first thing tomorrow morning, next to a small bowl of prebeaten eggs and potatoes, sans peppers, which Rufus said Cally did not like.

Then Tasha, Yuffie, Tifa and Rufus stood around the island in the center of the kitchen, sampling the rolls they'd made for themselves. Vincent cleaned up the resulting mess; making cinnamon rolls was messy business, indeed.

"These are amazing." Tasha said, closing her eyes in bliss. Tifa made a noise of assent; her eyes were closed as well.

"Hey, Vincent, why aren't you trying any?" Rufus asked. His face was smeared with icing from cramming the majority of one of the immense cinnamon rolls into his mouth.

Vincent shrugged. "I will try one later." He continued rinsing out dishes to put into the dishwasher.

"Oh, come on, Vinnie." Yuffie said. Vincent threw her a quizzical glance, eyebrow raised, and Yuffie fought down the arousal that look always brought her as she pouted at him. "Come on, eat a cinnamon roll. These won't be as good unless they're sticky and warm."

Vincent gave her a look she couldn't decipher and turned back to the dishes. It wasn't often he was able to resist her urging, so she just looked at him for a few moments, and then turned back to the group, letting her "happy, peppy" instincts kick in and take over. Vincent left the room shortly after.

It was nearly midnight when the group disbanded for a few hours sleep. Tasha and Tifa headed up toward their respective rooms, licking icing off of their fingers and promising to get up early to help with breakfast.

Yuffie went up to her bedroom, quietly opening the door in case Vincent was asleep.

He wasn't. In fact, he hadn't even undressed yet. He was standing near the open window, and had pushed the metal reinforcing shutters aside to look out on the world below. A cool breeze drifted through the room.

"Is something wrong, Vincent?" Yuffie asked, softly shutting the door behind her. Her footsteps seemed unusually loud against the carpet as she made her way toward Vincent.

"No." He said. He was looking outward. "The monsters are getting restless." He pointed toward the forests surrounding her acre of clear space; she could just make out dark shapes moving within.

"Better let everyone know to close the shutters at night now." Yuffie said. Vincent nodded, but made no move to do so himself. Instead, he continued looking outward. The moon was nearly full and it was the only light in the room. It cast a ghostly pall on his skin; he looked almost sickly.

"Vincent, something is wrong." Yuffie said. She lay her hand on his back. "Just...you don't have to talk about stuff like that. But I wish you would. That's what I'm here for, you know."

Vincent shrugged. "We should probably go to bed." He closed the shutters and the window, flicking on a bedside lamp as he turned.

Yuffie sighed. She climbed into bed still-clothed; it was freezing, and she'd have to get up early. She kicked off her tennis shoes and curled into a ball, facing away from Vincent's side of the bed.

Warm arms encircled her, and skin touched skin. "I'm sorry." Vincent said, his breath tickling her ear. "I am not used to having...someone who wants to know these things about me." He hugged her tighter. "The cinnamon rolls reminded me of what Cally said yesterday, about my mother. That's all."

Yuffie turned toward him in his arms and hugged him back. "Just don't forget, Vince. You're not the only one with a right to your thoughts anymore, okay?"

He chuckled. "I'll try to keep that in mind." She smiled and closed her eyes, touching her lips to his gently. They fell asleep in that position; forehead to forehead, arms around each other, the moonlight filtering in through the shutters and casting pale shadows on their forms.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie woke up to caresses.

There was no other way to describe the maddening touches Vincent was tracing along her body. They were soft, fire-inducing, and tender. Yuffie, accustomed to getting only a few hours of sleep at a time, snapped awake instantly, just in time to return a kiss.

She stretched lightly and then turned toward him, a small, sly smile on her lips. "Five o'clock already?"

"Four thirty." Vincent said. Yuffie had never seen him like this, obviously amorous, but she liked it. He was nibbling at her earlobe and gently probing at her left nipple with his thumb, through the fabric of her tank top.

"We should go start breakfast." Yuffie said, giggling. Vincent made a small noise of protest as she moved to get out of the bed, and Yuffie laughed. "Okay, fine, I'm not going anywhere." She turned back towards him, giving in.

A satisfied smirk on his face, Vincent closed the distance between them. Beneath her comforter, Yuffie could feel that he was already naked, having obviously prepared for the moment. He continued to trail fiery touches down her back, sides, and front, touching all of the right places at the right moments. Yuffie let out a small moan, which he stifled with a kiss.

"We don't want to wake our...neighbors." Vincent warned her. Yuffie nodded; the last thing they needed to do was wake Cally up prior to her birthday breakfast with the sounds of coitus.

Vincent gently pushed her flat on the bed and, pinning her down beneath him, began kissing her neck and collar bone, his hands bunching the material of her shirt and hiking it up toward her breasts. She quickly slid out of the thing, and he kissed the sides of her breasts softly, sending a chill down her spine, before he began going lower.

She was wearing a pair of short shorts, and they'd become unbuttoned during the night. He slowly, infuriating her with his lack of haste, unzipped them and kissed her hip bones.

Almost reverently, he slid the offending garment off her body, leaving her clad in only a pair of thong panties. He slipped the straps down, exposing more of her hips, and nibbled at the sensitive skin there.

Yuffie shoved her fingers in her mouth to quiet the small sounds she was making. Vincent was now placing small, wet kisses in the area just below her navel, and slowly maneuvered the panties toward her ankles. Then he slowly spread her legs and ran his tongue along the lips there.

She shivered, and he dipped his tongue lower, making her cry out, which she muffled with the palm of her hand.

Spreading her lips apart, he tongued her clit. She reached for a pillow and pressed it against her face, knowing that if he kept this up for much longer, she was definitely going to wake someone.

He brought her nearly to orgasm with his tongue before pulling himself up and removing the pillow. He kissed her, and in the meantime slid two fingers, slick with her juices, inside of her. She moaned into his mouth, also dripping.

She could feel his engorged organ pushing up against her leg, and she bucked against it, wanting it now. He chuckled into her mouth, but made no move to spring into action. He seemed to want to take things a little slow, and it was infuriating.

She pushed against him again, and as if it were some sort of signal, he removed his fingers and positioned himself over her. She propped herself up on her elbows, looking up at him with lips parted and legs spread.

He bit his lip slightly as he slipped inside of her, and then closed his eyes, leaning his head back. His hair cascaded down his back as his pumping became more intense, but still slow.

At that point Yuffie understood exactly what was going on. The other day, they had had sex. Tonight, Vincent was making love to her, and he was insistent on doing it right. She smirked slightly, but then rational thought became impossible as he began rotating his hips in addition to thrusting.

She wrapped one leg around his, pulling him closer to her, and pulled his head toward her, kissing him deeply while he continued his rhythm.

The clock said that it had only been fifteen minutes, but it felt like a lifetime to Yuffie before she finally felt the fluttering in her belly that heralded her imminent release. She couldn't even warn him properly, only managing to get "Vincent..." out before she was biting into his shoulder to stifle her cries.

Vincent didn't have such a luxury, and as her spasming set him off, he cried out, trying in the insanity of it to keep it quiet. When they were done, he stayed there, shuddering into her shoulder and generally just recovering.

After a while he seemed to gather enough strength to push off of her. Yuffie was gasping for air next to him on the bed, and he wasn't much better off.

Yuffie glanced at the alarm clock; it was going to go off in five minutes. She stretched slowly and then sat up. She lit a cigarette and focused on steadying her breath.

Vincent encircled her from behind; they were both still naked, and he had put his legs around hers down the edge of the bed. He put his arms around her waist and rested his head in the crook of her neck. She smiled and turned to him, placing a kiss on his lips. Vincent was engaging in post-sex cuddling, and it was absolutely adorable.

"I love you." He said. It startled her; not that he hadn't said it before, of course, but it was usually in reference or reply to something she had said. He'd never just blurted it out like that.

"I love you, too." She said. She turned toward him and cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the sudden displays of affection?"

Vincent shrugged, arms still enclosing her. "I am not allowed to be affectionate with the love of my life?"

"Well, yeah, of course you are...it's just...unexpected." She said. The love of his life? That was even more unusual. She'd always sort of felt overshadowed by Lucrecia in regards to Vincent, and it was odd to know that he held her in higher regard than the scientist.

The alarm went off at that point and she jumped to turn it off, in the process forcing Vincent to let her go. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright. I suspect we both ought to clean up a bit, and then wake Rufus." Vincent smirked. They accomplished these tasks quickly, ignoring the bath in favor of sponging the fluids off of each other and dressing quickly.

In the hallway, Yuffie was startled to meet Rufus, emerging quietly from his room and shutting the door. He smiled. "Ready to surprise the hell out of one overworked aide?"

Yuffie and Vincent nodded and the three of them headed down toward the kitchen.

**- - - - - **

Rufus lay in bed, gritting his teeth. He could tell they were trying to be quiet, but he could hear Vincent and Yuffie going at it next door, and it sort of ground on his nerves. Somehow, in the fact that they were now a couple, he'd managed to ignore the fact that with that usually came sex. Being confronted with it at 4:30 in the morning wasn't the way he'd wanted to find out.

Finally, after one too many times of hearing Yuffie stifle a moan, he got out of bed quietly and got dressed. He was in the bathroom, shaving, when he heard Vincent let out a rather loud cry, and Rufus winced.

The noises stilled. Thank God they were finally done.

He put his hair in it's normal style, slicking it back with water wax, and then washed his hands. When he left the bedroom, Cally was still asleep. He was amazed that the sleeping pill he'd slipped her was working well enough to keep her asleep through the noise of what was going on next door.

He met up with Vincent and Yuffie in the hallway and gave them no indication that they'd woken him up. Yuffie's face was red, and he knew that she suspected that was the case. He kept _his_ face impassive.

Vincent, dressed in a dark red T-shirt that Yuffie had bought him, and a pair of black jeans, flipped the switch on in the entryway. To their surprise, the light was already on in the kitchen.

Tifa, Tasha and Kenny were in there. Tifa was heating up the various pans needed to prepare breakfast, and had set the oven to warm up to bake the cinnamon rolls. Tasha was cheerfully kneading a huge bowl of dough. She smiled at them brightly as they walked into the room. "Bread dough, special recipe from my mom. It should be ready to eat by the time lunch rolls around, but I needed to get it rising early."

At the word "rise" Yuffie's face turned and even deeper shade of red. Fortunately, no one noticed.

Kenny was stirring something in another bowl. He nodded toward them. "Tasha said Cally likes chicken, so we took out a few of them from the freezer. I hope that's alright. I'm making a stuffing, and we're going to season them the way Tasha's parents used to. They should be done in time for lunch."

Yuffie smiled. "That sounds awesome. What else should we make to go with it?"

Tasha shrugged. "I dunno. I just thought the fresh bread'd complement it, and Kenny's making his super-secret stuffing, so...whatever you think'd go good with it."

"Well, let's start the rolls." Rufus said. He sounded grumpy. He opened the fridge and went in, emerging with the trays of cinnamon rolls.

These went into the oven while Yuffie took out the coffee beans Tasha had purchased the night before. Hazelnut.

While the coffee brewed and the rolls baked, Tifa cooked up the scrambled eggs and Yuffie made a quick homemade salsa, only mildly spicy, and Rufus warmed up the icing in a double-boiler. After Tasha had set the bread to rising, she grabbed up the bag of oranges Yuffie had indicated – they were going to be overripe soon – and started the juicer up.

By six o'clock most of the house had risen, but Cally was still deep asleep in bed. Rufus smirked.

"I put one of her sleeping pills in her cup of water. She must have taken a sip last night."

Yuffie's eyes widened, and then she giggled, remembering that turnabout was fair play.

Vincent, having the best eye for things like this, carefully arranged Cally's breakfast on a tray designed to be eaten off of in bed. It had legs that propped it several inches off of the diner's lap.

He carefully placed two of the cinnamon rolls, dripping with icing, on a salad plate, and set it next to the mug of hazelnut coffee and the glass of orange juice. A cup with cream and a small bowl of sugar with a spoon were near the coffee, as no one could recall how Cally took her coffee, not even Tasha ("I'm thinking lots of sugar, though..." She'd said, contemplative).

A bigger plate contained two tortillas with the egg-potato mixture on them, and several small serving dishes containing the various ingredients for breakfast burritos – onions, cut up sausage, cheese, and Yuffie's salsa – were arranged around the plate. A cloth napkin was folded into a rectangle, with cutlery resting on top of it. Rufus looked at the tray and frowned. "Hmm." He said, pondering.

Then his eyes lit up and he walked out the back door.

"The hell?" Yuffie said, staring after him. Just as suddenly, he reappeared, holding one of the long-stemmed carnations in white that grew in Yuffie's garden. Her eyes lit up, and she handed him a pair of scissors to trim off the uneven edge.

He set it on the tray, between the two plates, and nodded. "Perfect." He grinned.

Tasha was shaping the bread into loaves and waved them off. "Cally doesn't like people staring at her when she first wakes up. I'll stay down here, where it's _safe_." Tifa and Kenny elected to do so as well, instead setting breakfast out on the buffet table in the dining room for the sleepy house population that was slowly but surely stumbling downstairs. The remaining cinnamon buns had been cut into small pieces and had toothpicks driven through them. Kenny put them on a tray for everyone to sample.

So it was just Vincent, Rufus, and Yuffie who walked into Cally's room first thing in the morning. To their surprise, she was sitting up, bleary-eyed, but not out of bed yet.

"Uh...happy birthday." Rufus said, feeling a little stupid carrying a tray full of food. Cally blinked at him and then glared.

"Who told you it was my birthday? Not even Tasha knows my birthday." Cally said, crossing her arms.

"You had to give me your birthday when you filled out your tax information." Rufus pointed out. Her frown deepened, and then she sniffed.

"...Cinnamon rolls?" She asked. Rufus, feeling like he was in a little more safe territory, approached her, holding the tray out as a sort of peace offering.

Yuffie smiled and tapped on Vincent's shoulder, and the two of them slowly retreated from the room.

"Oh my God." Cally said, after biting into one of the rolls. "This. Is. _Amazing_."

Rufus smiled and sat on his bed, watching her enjoy the meal. "That, incidentally, was Vincent's doing. He says your mom used to make them."

Cally nodded. "I thought it tasted familiar. I haven't had these in_years_. So good." She licked icing off of her fingers and took a sip of the coffee. She frowned and sniffed it.

"Tasha was in on this, wasn't she?" She demanded. Rufus nodded.

"How could you tell?" He asked.

"She's the only one who knows exactly what brand of beans to get." Cally laughed outrageously. "I successfully hid my birthday from her for nearly fifteen years, and she goes and finds out because my boss spills the beans. No pun intended."

"Sorry." Rufus said, shrugging. Then he turned to look at her. "What's the big deal about your birthday, anyway?"

Cally shrugged, a little uncomfortably. "I just...don't like people making a big deal about it. It's just another day, another year."

"Yeah, but it's _your_ day." Rufus pointed out. "Incidentally, you are to take the day off. I can deal without an aide for a day."

Cally snorted. "Yeah, right." She took a sip of orange juice. "Fresh. Mmmm."

When she'd finished her breakfast, Rufus collected the plate and winked at her. "How many people would like to have me waiting on them? You should feel special." He smiled and left to take the dirty dishes down toward the kitchen.

Cally sat back in bed, a slightly warm feeling suffusing her body. She leaned back, a satisfied smirk on her face, and put her hands behind her head.

Today was going to be a good day.

**- - - - - **

Six hours later, as she came downstairs at noon, having taken Rufus at his word and caught up on her reading, she revised her opinion.

The reason for this was the veritable feast laid out in the dining room, and the fact that everyone in the house chorused "Happy birthday, Cally!" At the top of their lungs as she walked in.

Although watching Cid and Shera's son James squeak it out was adorable. He looked like his father in miniature; in fact, he even had the tail end of a sucker sticking out of his mouth, where his father's ever-present cigarette would normally be.

Tasha and Rufus had done their research, and had done it well. There were several dishes that she absolutely loved, and a half a sheet cake with a funny frosting animation on it, of her in chibi looking pissed off. She wondered who had done that.

"Vincent did it." Rufus confided. "I told him you'd probably be infuriated and he smirked and did that. Yuffie thought it was adorable."

"It kinda is." Cally admitted. She loaded up her fork with some of the chicken breast, which was tender and had been injected with something that made it flavorful.

Kenny and Vincent had made entirely too much chicken, and the remainders were loaded into Tupperware containers, along with a surplus of Tasha's surprisingly good sweet bread.

"Chicken sandwiches for dinner." Yuffie said, firmly. "Everyone gets to grab their own whenever they want."

After the dining room had been cleaned, Cally was even further embarrassed by being presented with a pile of presents to open. Most of the kids had made her cards in the crèche yesterday; Shera must have organized that, because there had been no trace of it when she'd taken her turn watching the little ones. James, who out of all of the children actually sort of knew her (She'd looked after him a couple of times during emergency meetings between Cid and Rufus), had presented her with an intricate butterfly hair pin, knowing she loved butterflies.

Cloud and Tifa had gotten her a large bag of the coffee beans that Tasha had bought last night, and a grinder and road mug. Barret, Marlene, and Edith had bought her a tab at Tifa's bar; "To toast with after this is all behind us." Cally smirked.

There were many trinkets and things to help make her life easier, including a brand-new communique from Cid and Shera, and a watch from Denzel. It was a nice watch and she sincerely told him she loved it. He blushed, happy.

Finally, the pile was done and she excused herself. Yuffie, Vincent and Rufus also excused themselves, ostensibly to help her carry her things back up to the room.

Once they got there, however, the ulterior motive became obvious.

"You may have noticed that we did not give you presents down there." Rufus began. Cally narrowed her eyes.

"We got you stuff, but we figured it was a little more sentimental in nature so we wanted to give it to you alone." Yuffie explained. "Too much embarrassment can be bad for your health."

Yuffie gave her a new gun. "It was one of my mom's; our families were allied." She said. "She had a hell of a collection. It's an amazing piece of equipment. I had Vincent service it."

Cally hefted it in her hand. It was a fine piece, and she told Yuffie she couldn't accept it. Yuffie shook her head.

"Take it. I've got others, I'll never use it. I know Mom would have rather had someone make use of it defending people, rather than sitting around on a shelf, mouldering."

Cally murmured her thanks as Vincent thrust a package at her awkwardly and then crossed his arms, pointedly not looking at her while she opened it.

It was a large folder of papers. She flipped through them; a dawning realization came across her face when she realized what they were.

"Every recipe our mother ever prepared." Vincent said. "When she developed them she taught them to me." He tapped his forehead. "There are also some from my father in there."

"Wow." Cally sat down on the bed. "There's so many of them."

Vincent nodded.

Yuffie and Vincent left at that point; Yuffie could tell that Vincent wasn't exactly comfortable with the sentimental nature of the current gathering, and excused them. Rufus looked relieved.

He handed her a box; it was small, and he looked almost nervous giving it to her.

It was a ring. A stylized dragon was done in jade within a circle of what looked like obsidian, set on an elegant silver band.

"Your mother's family sign." He said. "Vincent knew the design and sketched it out for me to take to the jeweler." He laughed hesitantly. "You have no idea how hard it was to get a jeweler willing to make it up on such short notice..."

Cally cut him off when she launched herself off her bed and threw her arms around him. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, patting her on the back and trying to calm her down. She was crying onto his shoulder and it wasn't a situation Rufus had ever expected to find himself in.

"It's beautiful." She said, still crying into his lapel. He let her.

They stayed in that position for a while; Cally was overcome with the emotional pull of the day, and the constant reminders of her family, and Rufus felt obliged to comfort her, even if that just meant letting her cry into his jacket and occasionally murmuring assurances to her.

After what seemed like forever, Cally separated from him and dried her eyes. "Sorry. That was really unprofessional of me."

Rufus let out of a bark of laughter. "It's your day off, you are ordered to be unprofessional. Got it?"

She giggled a little and sat back down on her bed. Taking the ring out of the box, she put it on her right ring finger and admired it.

"It must have cost a fortune." She said, glancing up at him sharply.

Rufus shook his head. "Fortune is relative. It doesn't seem like a lot to me, although I'm sure it'd make some people pass out. But even if it were a lot; you're worth it. You help out more than you could possibly know."

Cally smiled. "Good to know I'm appreciated. So I'll definitely be getting my vacation time after we're all done saving the world again?"

Rufus laughed. "Yes, but on the condition that you actually leave and go somewhere on vacation. No sitting around at home catching up on reports and such." Cally looked a little guilty. "I mean it. No work."

"Yes, sir." Cally said, sarcastically. She laughed and put the box the ring had come in on her night stand. "If I have permission to do a little bit of work today, I believe we were going to go to the bulk store and get more food, since Yuffie's going to be hosting more people than she thought?"

Rufus nodded. "Yeah. Also, keep your eye out for something for your brother. His birthday is in eleven days, and I for one have no idea what the fuck to get him."

Cally snickered as she stood up. "Can do. Now, scoot, if we're going shopping, Yuffie, Tasha and I all have to dress for discounts." She smirked and shooed Rufus out of the room.

"Did she like it?" Yuffie asked him, running up excitedly. Rufus was still a little startled from everything that had occurred in there.

"I made her cry." Rufus said. "But I think she liked it, yeah. She said I had to leave so she can 'dress for discounts.'" He looked at Yuffie curiously. "She said you and Tasha had to as well."

"Oh, yeah." Yuffie said. She smirked. "I'll be right back. Tasha's already changing." She chuckled. "Just keep your jaw hinged, alright, Rufus?"

**- - - - - **

Rufus had wondered about that comment, but when he saw the three girls after their primping sessions, he understood a little more.

Yuffie was wearing a pair of tight leather pants and a red halter top that came down in a point over her navel. It showed off her cleavage to her advantage. The outfit was complimented by the black high heel sandals she wore, and the loose belt that surrounded the waist of the pants.

Tasha wore a pair of knee-high platform black leather boots with an assortment of buckles and straps adorning it, and a red plaid miniskirt. A short white camisole that only reached just past her chest was partially covered up with a long-sleeved white button-up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The front of the shirt was tied into a knot at the bottom.

Cally, in Rufus' opinion, looked the best out of them all. She wore a black leather skirt that came up above the middle of her thigh, and thigh-high boots similar to Tasha's, but with the addition of several pointless zippers. Her torso was squeezed into a matching leather corset-style vest.

Squeezed was right; her not insubstantial breasts looked like they were about to pop out. Rufus wondered if he should avert his eyes, because this was almost certainly indecent.

The girls had also done their hair and makeup; Tasha's long hair had been pulled into pigtails to complete the schoolgirl look. Yuffie's had been styled to make her look more sophisticated, and Cally's was pulled back into a tight ponytail. The general look was that Yuffie was a nightclub patron, Cally a dominatrix, and Tasha the typical "slutty" school girl.

Cid, who was on his way from the living room to the garage, let loose with a slow whistle through his teeth as the girls came down the stairs together. "Did I die and go to heaven or something?"

Tasha let loose with a laugh totally at odds with her appearance. Vincent, who didn't seem to approve of the clothing, crossed his arms.

Reeve walked out of the living room as well, having heard Cid's whistle, and stopped dead in his tracks. "...I know it's not Halloween yet..." He said. He was staring openly at the girls.

"No, we're just going shopping." Yuffie said, flouncing down the stairs in a manner that made Vincent want to hover protectively over her. It had made her...jiggle.

"Ah." Tifa said, smirking as she came up behind Reeve. "Going for the discount, ladies?"

"Of course!" Cally said, striking a pose. "How do we look?"

"You've earned my seal of approval." Cid said, whistling again before starting off toward the garage again. "Damn, man. I think I might just move in here, if this is gonna happen on a regular basis."

Yuffie giggled and snagged up her purse. "Come on, girls. Let's get this show on the road."

Vincent drove Yuffie, and Rufus, Cally; Tasha had her own motorcycle and somehow managed to keep from flashing the majority of Kalm while driving it. They pulled up at the store and straightened up.

"Okay, boys, you're on your own." Yuffie said, waving at them as they headed into the store.

Rufus shook his head. "They look like Charlie's Angels or something. This is ridiculous."

Vincent obviously agreed. He crossed his arms and glared at the trio as they disappeared behind the doors.

They waited ten minutes and then went in themselves.

Rufus had to talk Vincent out of following the girls around. "You're likely to get security called on you." He pointed out. "You look like a stalker."

Vincent huffed about in the produce section for a while over that. Rufus had to hide his smile; really, it was too amusing to see Vincent Valentine pacing frustratedly to and fro, between the bananas and squash.

Finally, Rufus simply grabbed a cart and tried to occupy Vincent's attention with things they needed at the house that weren't food-related. Power tools, screws, saws, and anything else, so long as it distracted him at least temporarily.

They met up with the girls after both groups had finished shopping, and transferred the cart into their capable hands. Cally winked at him as she hefted a power drill. "Fits, don't it?"

Rufus blushed a little bit and he and Vincent left, waiting for them just outside the door. Rufus passed the time trying to not think about the looks men were probably aiming at Cally...

Since when did he care who was checking Cally out? Rufus broke out in a cold sweat and swallowed hard.

There was a commotion just inside the door, and the two of them ran over, just in time to see Tasha hook her foot around a man's neck and throw him to the floor. She put her booted foot over the man's throat, threateningly. "You touch her again and I'll fucking _kill_you. Got it?" She hissed at him. Yuffie chimed in with angry agreements, having drawn her gun from her purse and aimed it at the man's head. Cally, for her part, just looked pissed.

"Whoa, what happened?" Rufus exclaimed, running back in. Vincent was not far behind.

"We paid for everything and were on our way out when this _pervert_..." And Tasha stressed the word, jabbing at him with her foot. "Came up and practically shoved his hands down Cally's vest." She kicked and sent the man flying feet away from them.

Rufus was seeing red by the time Tasha finished explaining. He narrowed his eyes and very calmly walked out of the store before his limit break kicked in.

He threw his rage into helping the girls and Vincent load up the rented truck. Everything just barely fit.

Vincent drove off in the truck, and Tasha and Yuffie took off on their bikes. Rufus sat there for a few minutes, letting his pulse drop.

"You okay?" He and Cally said at the same time. Rufus chuckled harshly.

"You get molested and you're asking if _I'm_ okay?"

Cally shrugged. "It sucked, but hey, that's what overprotective friends like Tasha are for. You looked like you were gonna kill the guy, though. Just wanted to make sure you weren't gonna go back and actually do it. I don't have enough bail money to get you out."

Rufus laughed hollowly. "Yeah." He started up the motorcycle and they slowly drove back to Yuffie's house.

**- - - - - **

"Yuffie." Yuffie was in her study taking some notes on things when she heard her voice called, softly. She looked up; Rufus was standing in her doorway. He glanced around him and entered, shutting the door behind him.

Yuffie welcomed the distraction – she was trying to understand blueprints and was pointedly ignoring a letter from her father, which sat underneath everything. She smiled. "What's up?"

Rufus coughed. "I have a bit of a problem."

Yuffie raised her right eyebrow; the effect was so Vincentesque that Rufus was momentarily startled. He shook his head and then sat in one of the chairs.

"You know, I've heard it bandied about that you become your mate after a while." He said, jokingly, at Yuffie. "I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

"What?" Yuffie was confused.

"Nothing. Your eyebrow." He laughed; he was quite obviously exhausted and not in his right mind. "You just reminded me of Vincent for a second. It was funny."

She looked at him, obviously perplexed. "Rufus, I think you need to get some sleep."

"I can't." He blurted out. "I need a different room. Can I stay here? Or in the living room?"

Yuffie blinked. "What?" She sighed. "You need to start making some sense, Rufus, or I'm going to beat it out of you."

"It's Cally. I can't share a room with her anymore. Bed me in with Nanaki if you have to." Rufus explained.

"Why, does she snore or something?" Yuffie's eyebrows squeezed together. "I could see that being a problem; sometimes Vincent does this thing where he snores in chunks, and..."

"She doesn't snore." Rufus said. He looked at Yuffie and sighed. "Just...let me stay in the living room tonight, please?"

Yuffie shrugged. "Whatever. All of the doors and windows are fortified, you just won't have any privacy. There's extra blankets in the linen room downstairs."

Rufus sighed. "Thanks." He shot her a tired, grateful smile and left to find the linens.

Grabbing a pillow and a blanket, he trudged back toward Yuffie's extensive, and rarely-used, living room. Large, plush couches that were very wide – wide enough to sleep on – sat in no apparent order. He chose one and set up shop, taking his clothes and coat off and climbing onto the makeshift bed in his clothes.

No, he couldn't sleep in the room with Cally. Because he'd never be able to get to sleep. He'd just sit there watching her, and his mind would roam in disturbing directions. Best to head it off at the pass.

He sighed and let his eyes close, and tried very hard not to think about his assistant.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie sighed. She'd finally gotten through the blueprints and notes and things she had been busy doing, and was now focused on the unopened envelope from her father. She lit a cigarette and regarded it, suspiciously.

She had never really discussed her departure from Wutai with any of her friends; she hadn't been back for several years, ever since her brother had been born. It had been a precipitous, anger-filled departure, and her and Godo didn't talk often.

In fact, they hadn't talked at all.

Sighing, she broke the wax seal on the envelope and pulled the parchment out. Wutai still held to a lot of traditions; Godo would not be bothered to get a communique or e-mail, not when letter-writing sufficed perfectly fine.

Her eyes glossed over the Wutain characters; she knew that Cally could not read it, but she was fairly certain Vincent could – and that he'd be the only person in the house who could.

_Dearest Yuffie;_

_I am glad to see that you are alive and well. I caught the newscast; it was the first word I had received of your whereabouts in the years since you left our homeland._

_The second, of course, being when Lady Pruett returned to us and told me she'd sold you her home on the Midgar continent._

_I know you took your half-brother's birth badly. I cannot blame you; for years you thought you were going to become the heir to the throne and now you thought it had been taken away._

_I am writing to tell you that I have not named an heir; Tradition, of course, says I must choose your brother, but his mother is not a pure-blood and tradition also says pure blood over gender. These past few years I have been discussing the issue with my aides and we still have not come up with a solution to the problem._

_Lady Pruett tells me you plan on helping out during the alignment. This is a good, honorable deed; I only wish you could have chosen to help out here, in the place of your birth. But no matter what, you are throwing yourself to the good of the cause and it is what I have come to expect of you – to do what is right, even in the face of unbeatable odds._

_If you want to reclaim your title, you will return to Wutai and marry. Because, of course, that is the only requirement, and you know that. You must have a man at your side; there are many promising young men here in Wutai who would make excellent advisors; knowing you, you wouldn't want to be a submissive, you would want to be the leader. There is nothing wrong with that; if your mother had not departed this world, I daresay she would have insisted on the same thing._

_If you do not want to reclaim your title, please consider returning at least to meet your brother; he is almost three now and has began talking and walking, and professes the wish to – and he made me promise to quote him on this – "Become the best ninja ever, just like my sister." I suppose it was growing up with all of the tales about your group and Sephiroth, but I believe he's become quite the admirer of yours. My honored wife has given me a picture to send to you, if you wish it. I have enclosed it._

_Wutai needs you, Yuffie, in some form or another, be it leader or simply to be there when we fall on hard times – and times certainly are hard. I have spent my fortune, excepting your dowry, on trying to restore the land, but the crops have been failing and the monster attacks aren't helping. You know how proud Wutai is; we will not ask for help, but we would like it if our Lady would grace us with her presence. Yours would be a welcome one here in ruined Wutai._

_Your father, humbly;_

_Godo Kisaragi_

Yuffie stared at the letter as if she'd never seen it before. A Polaroid picture fell out of the envelope; it was a little Wutain boy in an elaborate ninja costume, hurling some of her old throwing stars around. His hair was black and his skin olive, but his eyes were blue, just like his mother. He was smiling.

Vincent found her there about an hour later, still looking at the letter as if it contained something completely astonishing – like a million gil or the whereabouts of her long-lost puppy from ten years ago. He frowned.

"Yuffie? What's wrong?" He asked, his face going from pleasant to inquiring and downright concerned. Yuffie was not often at a loss for words.

"...My dad sent me a letter." She whispered. She handed it to him and continued to stare at the picture of her little brother.

Vincent read it twice and set it on the desk.

"I thought your brother was made heir." He said.

"I thought so too. I was wrong, apparently." Yuffie frowned and pushed her bangs out of her face. She lit another cigarette.

Vincent was quiet for a very long time.

"What do you want to do?" He asked, finally.

"I don't know." She replied. "I'd given up on Wutai." She snorted. "I kinda just took off after my brother was born. I was pissed...pissed that they'd had a boy, and pissed that my dad had remarried. I mean, I was more than qualified. I'd helped save the world three times. You and I evacuated Midgar with Reeve. I have a degree in freakin' aerospace dynamics. And then she goes and gives him a son." She inhaled. "But I gave up on that a long time ago. I don't know if I'm ready to accept the responsibility now."

Vincent nodded, his heart returning to a normal pace. His gaze became intense.

"You could tell him to use your dowry for Wutai." He said. Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey, that's mine! I've earned it!"

"Actually." He pointed out, a little coldly. "It's the property of whomever you marry. That is the definition of a dowry." He crosses his arms. "Assuming I'm the man you plan on marrying, I doubt anything Wutai could offer me would compare to what I already have, monetarily or otherwise."

Yuffie stared at him for a long time. In Wutai, a woman is her dowry. It is her Bride Price, what her father is willing to offer her future husband to care for her – even in her case, when she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. A dowry is her self-worth. That Vincent, knowing full-well what those customs were, demanded that she give it up, was almost blasphemous.

And then he went and suggested that she was worth far more than her dowry, which was insane because her dowry was several million gil and some priceless materia. Then again, his account had much more money in it than she'd ever even comprehended before, so that sort of made sense.

"Yuffie, I assure you that I hold no stock in this dowry nonsense." Vincent said. "If you really are planning on staying with me, it's not a big deal to let it go. If not, you might want to say something now."

Her eyes widened. "Vincent, that's not what I'm saying, and you know that." She glared at him. "I can't believe you'd even suggest that. You're asking me to give up something I've held onto for almost 27 years. You're asking me to effectively divorce myself from Wutai. I just don't know if I can do that."

His face softened incrementally. "How much is it?"

She snorted. "Seven million gil and a master materia set. Last time we had it appraised, it was, total, worth about ten million. A drop in the bloody bucket compared to what you have, but still..."

His brow furrowed. "I am confused, however, how Wutain weddings work. I never lived there." He was silent for a while. "Do you get the money as a sort of wedding present, or when the license is signed, or after you get your name changed...or what?"

She laughed. "The dowry is payable when the marriage contract specifies it is payable. And there's different kinds of contracts, too. The basic marriage contract is a lifetime commitment severable only in the case of adultery, with dowry payable on the wedding day. They can get pretty extensive, though – I know a woman who had a six-year body-heir marriage contract with a half-dowry payable upon the signing of the contract, and the other half after the six years was up, and only if the body-heir had been produced – and he had to provide half of the body-heir's expenses until the kid reached sixteen, which is the age of majority in Wutai. There were some other odd stipulations, too."

His eyes widened. "So marriages are variable in Wutai?"

She nodded. "It's just a contract. You see now, why I never really regarded marriage as that huge a deal? I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but marrying you isn't a huge deal. I mean, I can sign a contract any old day – it's once in a lifetime that I can spend it with a man I love."

"The two aren't entirely mutually exclusive in the rest of the world, though, Yuffie." Vincent said. He wore a pained expression, and it was then that Yuffie realized that marriage was, indeed, in his thoughts for the future. She blinked. "Of course, there are several instances of people marrying for money or power, or any other benefit, but I think the majority of them marry because they love."

Yuffie was reeling. Obviously, Vincent didn't mean "Hey, let's hitch a boat ride to Costa del Sol and get married in a drive-thru chapel, right now." He meant the future. But ever since she'd left Wutai, she'd never seriously considered actually getting married; it didn't really figure into her world view. Not that she'd ruled it out, so to speak – it just never occurred to her. Most men were terrified of commitment; it had taken Vincent 33 years to commit to someone after Lucrecia, so she'd thought he'd be the same way.

And she'd never equated marriage with love – not that it didn't happen in Wutai, obviously. Her mother and father had loved each other, very deeply. In fact, Godo Kisaragi had pursued Yuffie's mother singlemindedly, usurping all other contenders for her choice, and proving himself to Yuffie's grandfather. But in her little world, as in the worlds of all princesses, marriage was not love – it was a contract. Love was love, and it was entirely different.

Vincent seemed to be following her line of thinking; his face became harder and harder the more the emotions flowed across her face. He frowned and turned toward the door.

"I will lend Godo the money." He said, softly. "If your dowry means that much to you." With that, he left.

Yuffie closed her eyes. She'd had one too many upheavals today and it showed on her face, although no one could see it. She'd reached her limits.

She started to cry.

**- - - - - **

Rufus had been unable to sleep. He was tossing and turning, and had sat up to dig around his jacket for a cigar (he smoked them sometimes) when he heard a noise behind him.

Vincent stood there, eyebrow raised. He was carrying a blanket and a pillow as well.

"Trouble in paradise?" Rufus blurted out. He turned crimson.

"You could say that." Vincent said. He seemed disinclined to elaborate.

"Oh, God, that's not what I meant. Sorry, Vincent. I'm exhausted."

Vincent, ignoring him, set up a makeshift bed on one of the other comfortable couches before laying down. He, too, seemed to be having problems sleeping, and it seemed it was for the same reason – both Rufus and Vincent had, for the past few nights, fallen asleep listening to someone else's breathing. For Vincent, that someone else was Yuffie; for Rufus, it was Cally.

Rufus finally found his cigar and withdrew it. Normally he'd have stepped outside to smoke it, but it was dangerous to go outdoors at night, so instead he lit it there, pulling one of Yuffie's ashtrays toward him.

"Why are you down here?" Vincent asked, suddenly. Rufus blinked. It wasn't in the gunslinger's mannerisms to ask such a personal question, and it definitely wasn't in his mannerisms to care about someone other than himself or Yuffie when it came to things like this.

It was definitely one question Rufus wished he hadn't asked.

"Oh. Er..." He trailed off.

Vincent raised his eyebrow again. Rufus sighed.

"Your sister was keeping me awake." He said. He sounded cranky, and he knew it, but he was exhausted. He'd had about three hours of sleep, thanks to Vincent and Yuffie fornicating semi-loudly the morning previous – actually, it was almost 24 hours ago – and on top of it had had a very trying day. He couldn't deal with Vincent quizzing him on his sudden attraction to Cally. He couldn't deal with it one bit.

"I see." Vincent said, softly. He continued to stare at the ceiling, and did not continue.

"So...er...what's going on, huh? Did Yuffie get that stuff taken care of?" Rufus asked, trying to stimulate some sort of conversation. Mentally, he hit himself in the head. Of course, Yuffie was the wrong person to bring up right now.

"She did." Vincent acknowledged. "You don't have to try to talk to me, Rufus. It is obviously awkward for you."

"For so many reasons." Rufus said, rolling his eyes and sitting down. He stared at the metal shutters that currently blocked the windows in the living room, and then sighed slightly. He leaned back into the couch. Then he sat back up. "You know what? No. Okay? Look, Vincent, there's no bad blood between us." The older man turned and looked at Rufus in surprise. "Seriously. I want you to know that. I can't bring myself to begrudge you Yuffie, because she's happy now. I can't even bring myself to be jealous, because, honestly, I know what a raging bitch she can be sometimes." Vincent snorted. "But look, talking to you isn't awkward because of Yuffie, it's awkward because you're an awkward fucking person and no one knows what to say to you. I just want you to know that it's not because of...her." He frowned. "Are we cool?"

Vincent thought about it for a few moments, and then nodded. His eyes were still plastered on the ceiling. Then he smirked. "As a peace offering, I will not hurt you when you pursue my sister."

Rufus, literally, facefaulted. "W-what?" He stuttered.

Vincent raised his eyebrow and for the first time looked directly at Rufus. "Rufus, even I can see it. It is only a matter of time before she does. It's obvious to pretty much anyone with eyesight. Just don't hurt her, or I will have to kill you, and I have to say that would probably not make me very happy."

Rufus was spluttering, his cigar forgotten, his face beet red. "I don't...I'd never – I mean..."

Vincent snorted slightly. He was still staring up at the ceiling. "Covering your ass doesn't work with a former Turk, Rufus. Remember that. We can tell when someone's lying."

Rufus stopped. "Did you just _swear_?"

Vincent frowned and propped himself up on his elbow. "Can someone _please_ explain to me why everyone is always so surprised that I can utter curse words?"

Rufus laughed outright.

"What are you guys doing here?" A voice said behind them. Kenny and Cid were both there, pillows and blankets in hand.

"I could say the same to you two." Rufus said. He eyed them.

Cid scratched his head. "James sorta pissed his bed. He's upset and he wanted to stay in our bed, but it's really too small for two adults and a kid. So Shera's gonna stay with him."

Everyone's eyes rested on Kenny.

"Tasha's PMSing." He said, seriously. "Trust me, if you were married to her, you'd understand. It's a war zone up there."

Rufus snorted. "I believe it." He sighed. "The problem being that we now have an adult slumber party going on here, and it's just a little bit creepy. Also, I left my footy pajamas at home."

"Ah, fuck that." Cid said. "Hang on a sec." He dropped his blanket and pillow on the floor and disappeared.

Vincent got a look on his face. He sighed and sat up.

"What's going on?" Kenny asked. He claimed the couch closest to Rufus, who he knew best out of the group. "Where'd Cid go?"

Rufus shrugged and looked at Vincent, who had sat and had the air of someone relaxing and waiting.

"No doubt, he has gone to raid Yuffie's alcohol stores." He said. "And possibly the cigar cache that is near it." He was obviously used to this kind of behavior. "He used to do it on the Highwind all the time."

"Hey!" Rufus exclaimed. "Those were my stores! That bastard!"

Vincent smirked. "It went to a good cause."

Rufus glowered.

Vincent had nailed it on the head; Cid returned with a bottle of Cabo Wabo tequila and some shot glasses, a couple of beers, and the box of cigars Yuffie had discovered and purchased, for reasons unbeknownst to Vincent.

Cid set his bed stuff on the couch nearer Vincent – Rufus had been right, Vincent was an awkward person and Kenny hadn't wanted to sit near him, not out of fear or discomfort, but because he figured Vincent would be more comfortable near his friend. He was right.

"Cabo Wabo shots all around." Cid snickered. "I dunno why you guys are here, but it's a guy's night in and I plan on getting wasted in preparation for tomorrow's hard work." He started pouring measures of the potent liquid into the shot glasses "Even you, Vince."

"I don't..."

"No excuses, man, you're takin' at least one shot."

Vincent narrowed his eyes but accepted the glass.

Vincent was the most sober amongst them by the time the night – or rather, morning – was out. He'd had the one shot at Cid's insistence (To which Rufus had chimed "I think the Gold Saucer has officially frozen over, Vincent Valentine just took a shot – without sipping it."), and had gravely accepted a beer, but that was it.

The other three, however, were pretty sloshed. In fact, Vincent even had a pleasant buzz going, but he simply sat there and observed.

Kenny and Cid got involved in a snowboarding video game Yuffie had laying in the living room, and Rufus was commenting on it while they played. Vincent hoped, for the sake of the others in the house trying to sleep, that the insulation between the living room and the rest of the house was better than that of the insulation between Rufus and Cally's room, and his and Yuffie's room.

At the thought of Yuffie his expression darkened.

"Whoa, man, Vincent, what's wrong?" Cid asked, pausing the game. "You just got all fucking scary looking."

"Nothing." He said.

Cid shook his head. "Nah, man, come on. You can't just keep shit bottled up inside you."

Vincent snorted. "Yes, I can. It's not something I am comfortable discussing."

"It's about Yuffie, isn't it?" Rufus asked. Vincent regarded him steadily, but did not say anything.

"Is she PMSing too?" Kenny asked, innocently. "Because I've heard women start doing it in sync with each other and if that's the case, we'd better get all of the guys into another house, pronto. Probably all of the kids, too."

Rufus laughed outrageously and Vincent snorted. "I don't think that's the issue, although it could be part of the problem. I doubt it, though."

They prodded him for a while longer but Vincent refused to budge. "It's a personal problem. I doubt Yuffie would appreciate me discussing it."

"She ain't pregnant, is she?!" Cid demanded.

Vincent's eyes widened. "No!"

To which the other three howled in laughter.

"Shoulda seen yer face, Vince." Cid said, whooping and slapping his knee.

Everyone seemed inclined to let the matter drop and started getting ready for bed. Finally – the sun was coming up.

"I think everyone's probably gonna take a bit of a breather after yesterday anyway." Cid said, stretching back on the couch and yawning. "It was a long one, even for the ones who didn't stay up drinkin' all night."

Only after Vincent was relatively sure the others were asleep did he stand and go to the kitchen. He felt a strong urge to drink another beer, or something alcoholic, to attempt to induce sleep. Cid, however, had decimated the tequila and there were no more beers left in the living room.

He opened the fridge and walked in. He was always stunned at the pure amount of food that fit into the thing – it was huge. Yuffie had organized it and there was a section for drinks, with the alcohol high up so the kids couldn't get to it easily, although Vincent suspected that a tall lad like Denzel could easily reach it, just as he could.

He stood on tiptoe and grabbed another six-pack of Red Stripe, which was apparently Yuffie's beer of choice because it predominated the chilled alcohol selection. Mentally, he blessed her for having the forethought to think that several adults working on a solution to a very difficult problem would wind up needing a lot of alcohol.

Walking out of the fridge with a brief shiver, he set it on the counter and used the can opener to pry the lid off of one of the bottles. Cid and Kenny had simply used their Bic lighters to pop them off, in a feat of physics that Vincent still couldn't quite grasp. Seeing as he didn't smoke and never carried a lighter, and was not currently wearing his gauntlet, the can opener had to suffice.

"Just what I was thinking." Rufus said, sighing as he walked into the kitchen. The morning light was starting to stream in through the shuttered windows. "Another beer would go down good, if you would be so nice as to hand one over." Vincent did just that and Rufus performed the lighter trick from earlier, much to Vincent's fascination.

Rufus downed half of the beer in one gulp. "So what's going on? Is Yuffie okay?"

Rufus, Vincent thought, was the one person Yuffie might not be upset about him talking to – after all, he was one of her best friends. He was still unsure, however, of inviting confidences, and it showed on his face.

Rufus held up his hands. "You don't have to talk about it. I just want to know if Yuffie is alright."

"I suppose." Vincent said. He frowned. "She received a letter from her father today. He told her he hadn't named anyone his heir yet and that she had the chance to do so if she wanted to come home and get married – and also that Wutai is suffering economically."

Rufus let out a slow whistle. "I can see where that'd upset her."

Vincent nodded slowly. "Her father has spent his entire fortune trying to help, except her dowry. I told her to tell him to use the dowry and..."

"Ouch." Rufus winced. "I bet she didn't take that well."

"I have to say I didn't expect her to take it so badly." Vincent admitted. "Seeing as I don't hold stock with the concept and had assumed – possibly erroneously – that I was the one she would be marrying in the future."

"I don't see how it's so erroneous." Rufus said. "I mean, you two are practically married anyway."

Vincent shook his head. "I don't know. Since we ...became an item, I had always entertained the idea. Not really consciously, but that some day we would get married. And it turns out that in Wutai marriage is nothing but a contract, and she was not interested in doing it." He frowned. "I suppose my pride was a little hurt."

"That's understandable." Rufus replied. "I mean, it was almost like getting shot down. Not really, because you didn't propose and she didn't say no, but I could see where it'd be kind of a let-down."

Vincent frowned and opened another beer.

Rufus was staring at his empty bottle. Apparently, he made the decision to have another as well, because he reached for one. "I'm not an advice type of person, Vincent, and I know you aren't seeking it, but if I had some, I'd say...wait it out. Yuffie doesn't know what marriage is to the rest of us. She's a princess. Her whole life has revolved around arranged marriages and contracts and body-heirs. Let her get used to the idea of a non-Wutain marriage. I mean, it's a little soon to be proposing and all. It's only been a few days."

"I'm aware of that." Vincent said. He had an almost sad smile on his face. "I am a romantic at heart, I suppose, because to me that is where a real relationship is supposed to lead. Marriage. And in her eyes, that's not the case. It's just something I never expected us to differ on. It's startling to discover."

Rufus smirked. "Yeah, well, shit happens, I guess."

Vincent eyed the younger man suspiciously.

"So, about my sister..."

**- - - - - **

"Oh how cute, it's a big boy sleepover!" A voice said, sarcastically. "We just need the footy pajamas – look, they were even playing video games!"

"Tasha, shut the hell up." Kenny's muffled voice said. Someone had very kindly hung something dark over the windows; the shutters didn't keep out all of the light and what most of them needed at that point was darkness.

"Uhhh..." Cid said. "What time 's it?"

"Three in the afternoon." Yuffie said. There was a thwacking sound; Vincent recognized it as the sound of a pack of cigarettes hitting a human head. He'd heard it enough being friends with Cid and Shera. "Get up, you lazyasses."

"Hey, we were up until like six in the morning." Rufus complained.

"And who's damn fault is that?" Yuffie demanded. She sounded...off. "Look, even Vincent has an empty shot glass and beer bottles in front of him. You guys corrupted him."

Vincent opened one eye, glared at her, and closed it again. One six pack split between Rufus and him had turned into three plus vodka as Vincent attempted to get Rufus to admit that he wanted to have sex with Cally – just so he could intimidate him, because really, it was amusing in the grand scheme of things.

The problem was that he'd had to ingest a lot of the alcohol as well. Apparently he had gone into alcohol overload, because Vincent Valentine had his first-ever hangover.

"Wake up, you guys."

"I am not moving." Vincent said. He'd buried his face into the pillow, and he sounded thoroughly miserable. "There is nothing you can do to make me get off of this couch."

There was a noise and suddenly Vincent was airborne. Yuffie had come and flipped the pillows out from under him.

He landed on the floor and glared at Yuffie accusingly before arranging the pillows on the floor and attempting to go back to sleep. A frustrated sigh was issued and then there was blessed silence.

"We're not gonna get anything done today anyway." A voice said as the girls were leaving the room. "Might as well let them sleep it off." It was Cally.

Vincent sighed and got up. He padded up to his and Yuffie's room – if she still cared for him to be around, that is – and dug through her materia collection, producing Heal. He cast esuna on himself and felt immeasurably better.

Then he went back downstairs and cast esuna on everyone else. There was a brief muttering and then Rufus sat up.

"I feel great!" He said, brightly. "What was that?" Vincent held up the materia and Rufus chuckled.

After an hour the living room looked like it hadn't been slept in at all. Rufus and Vincent had cleaned up while Cid and Kenny put the pillows away and washed the four blankets.

The three men played the snowboarding game from the night before while Vincent began preparing dinner. He felt a bit guilty that someone else had had to cook for everyone, and wondered who had done the deed.

He asked Cally, who wandered in with Tasha to help him.

"Oh, for breakfast we just had a load of scrambled eggs and sausage. Easy to make. And we dug out the leftovers from lunch yesterday for chicken sandwiches today, seeing as they didn't wind up getting used last night." She smiled at him. "We can survive without you if we have to, but it is immeasurably plainer food."

Vincent threw himself into preparing a large, delicious dinner. That way he didn't have to think about...

"What are you making?" Yuffie's voice asked, shortly followed by Yuffie herself walking in through the door. She sniffed. "Smells good."

"Indian tacos and rice." Tasha said. She was stirring said rice; Cally was carefully frying pieces of fry bread, while Vincent prepared the carne asada. The three of them split up the vegetables that needed slicing – lettuce, onions, tomatoes – and all of the other preparation, including the opening of a lot of chopped olives and the shredding of cheese. Next to her pan of rice, Tasha had the salsa left over from the breakfast burritos heating. She would sniff it occasionally and add something.

"Mmmm!" Yuffie smiled and walked over to the pile of fry bread. "Can I have a piece? Pleeeeease?"

"Knock yourself out." Cally said. "I have a shitload of the stuff."

Yuffie munched on her piece while the others prepared their things. Finally, all that was left was the meat, and the girls took the rest of the stuff out to the buffet table in the dining room, leaving Yuffie and Vincent alone in the kitchen.

"Vince..." She began.

All it took was a barely imperceptible shake of his head and she stopped.

"We can't talk about it?" Her voice was incredulous.

"Perhaps in privacy, Yuffie." He muttered, awkwardly.

She sighed and shoved a piece of fry bread into her mouth.

Dinner was delicious, as always – and because they'd used disposable dishes and cutlery, it was a lot easier to clean up. All the better because even those who had woken up at three were exhausted.

"Come into the study, Vincent." Yuffie said. "I want to show you my reply to my father."

She closed and locked the door behind them and gestured for him to take a seat at her desk, where the letter was. He sat, and he could see that she'd put up pictures since last night – there was the group picture of AVALANCHE from after Deep Ground; a picture of him (where she'd gotten it, he had no idea) and the picture of her brother throwing her old weapons. All of them sat in glittering frames, surrounding her. He sighed and looked down at the letter.

_Honored father;_

_It is good to hear from you after all these years. That is not to say that your letter did not cause some consternation and a few problems, but nonetheless, it is good to hear that you and Fumiko, as well as little Kiyoshi, are well._

_Let's get straight to the heart of the problem. I'm afraid you will have to choose Kiyoshi as your heir; I gave up on Wutai when he was born and I have built a life here, in Kalm. I'm a bounty hunter and I have strong ties to this community, as well as my job with Shinra. I have not ruled out coming to visit, because I miss the homeland a great deal, but right now would not be a good time. Perhaps after the alignment._

_If Wutai needed help, I wish you would have asked AVALANCHE. Any of them would know where to find me, father, and you know that as well as I. Not only that, but Shinra could have paid back those reparations Rufus keeps yammering about and all would be well – it's money Wutai is owed and Rufus feels bad about having it languishing in his accounts._

_If you must, take my dowry. I won't be needing it. If I do get married, father, it will not be in Wutai. The man that I love does not hold stock in marriage contracts and dowries, and he's rich enough without it anyway. I'd like the materia, though; I'll buy it off of you if I have to._

_I'm doing very well for myself without Wutai, father, and it saddens me to say that I probably will continue to do so. I hope that some day we can be on good terms; I'd like for you and your new family to come visit me. I have room to spare, trust me._

_Enclosed is a picture Tifa took of me and my boyfriend. You haven't seen me in a long while and I figured it would do your heart good to know I'm doing well._

_Your daughter, respectfully;_

_Yuffie Kisaragi_

Vincent looked over; indeed, there was a picture of himself and Yuffie; he had no idea when Tifa had taken it. He had to assume it was yesterday, because he was wearing the crimson T-shirt and dark pants. They were in the kitchen and they both looked very happy. He was actually smiling, a look that was so foreign on his features that the real Vincent blinked. Of course, Yuffie was smiling too, but she did that a lot. They were looking into each other's eyes, possibly about to kiss.

"Tifa took it yesterday." Yuffie said. "I'd been complaining about not having any good pictures of you and she snapped a few. That one's my favorite."

Ah, so that's where she'd gotten the picture on her desk.

"What do you think?" Yuffie asked. Vincent let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You don't have to give up..." He began. She shook her head.

"You were right, Vincent. You're the only one I'm ever going to marry if I do, and it doesn't matter to you. The money is sitting there rotting, it might as well go to something good. I've given up everything else for Wutai; this is no different, you know?"

Vincent stood and walked over to her. He let his arms go around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"Besides." He muttered. "You are worth a lot more than ten million gil."

_Author's Notes: Those cinnamon rolls? Oh, they're totally Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. I love Cinnabon. In fact, when I go to Reno next, I'm going to buy one, because now I'm craving one. I suck. :(_

_So, I have to apologize for how long this chapter took to get out. Something like three weeks to a month – a good update pace for some, but not me. I'm used to working with deadlines. I apologize, everyone._

_And this whole Rufus/Cally thing is literally the only thing I have consciously decided in this story, because I love Rufus too much to make him suffer over Yuffie for too long. Feel the Rufus love! I'm amazed that my muse allowed me to have some sort of say in this whole thing; perhaps he loves Rufus too._

_Read? Review!_


	10. Look To The Sky

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Ten – Look To The Sky**_

_Take a look to the sky just before you die  
It's the last time you will_

-- Metallica,_For Whom The Bell Tolls_

Yuffie made sure everyone who was planning on fighting attended the daily practices. These practices involved a lot of calisthenics and dueling, and Yuffie would generally go through her chakras afterward.

Vincent, however, did not participate in them. Every time Yuffie made some sort of argument against it, he simply gave her a Look and it would shut her up.

Of course Vincent didn't need to practice. That wasn't the reason he abstained from them, though. He was worried he'd hurt one of the people there – he was exceptionally strong comparatively.

He was watching today, though, from the window of his and Yuffie's room. He knew the fighting skills of his friends in AVALANCHE, of course – he was watching the newer arrivals. Yuffie had asked him to do so.

Denzel and Marlene were quite strong, of course – both had been learning martial arts from Tifa since they'd been mere children. They were dueling hand to hand with Yuffie and Cloud respectively; Cloud was obviously going easy on Marlene, but she was doing very well despite that fact. Cloud often had the same problem Vincent did; he was, and would continue to remain, quite a bit stronger than many of his compatriots.

Cally was practicing with her handgun on one of the many targets set up against the forest in Yuffie's back yard. Reeve, Kenny and Cid had joined her; Reeve with his rifle, and Cid with a revolver on loan from Vincent. Kenny had his own gun, a Glock that was, as far as he could tell, Shinra-issue. Rufus was silent on the obvious theft.

Cally was a very good aim. He supposed it ran in the family; his mother had had a good eye on her as well.

Tasha was sparring with Tifa; that was the one scene that surprised him. He knew exactly how skilled Tifa was, and frankly, Tasha was kicking her ass.

They'd been trained by the same instructor, Zangan. Tasha had received his tutelage at the end of his life, with the sum total of his knowledge. That didn't mean she was more skilled than Tifa, however; Tasha was simply a lot more inclined to fight dirty.

That, Vincent reasoned, was probably a good thing. But not for Tifa.

Tasha launched herself at the woman and feinted to the left before jumping and letting loose with a kick that splayed Tifa on the ground. Then she stopped and was at Tifa's side in an instant.

"Are you okay?" She asked, the sparkling green of Cure on her fingertips.

"Yeah." Tifa gasped. She coughed a little and sat back. "I underestimated you. Good job."

Tasha smiled. "Thanks, but I'm just a dirty fighter. You could learn a bit of that before we go up against insane monsters."

Tifa laughed and Tasha helped her up.

Vincent sighed and went downstairs. Yuffie could rest; everyone was well prepared for the onslaught, which was slated to begin next week. They'd all put in a hard few weeks preparing and they were damn ready.

He went into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. He'd been watching the practice for about two hours and felt he needed it. The door opened and Tifa walked in, covered in dirt and bruises.

She caught sight of Vincent and frowned. He acknowledged her presence with a nod.

"Can I get you some water?" He asked, politely. She shook her head savagely and left.

Vincent blinked. What had just happened?

It was at that point that he realized that Tifa had never been in a room with him, alone, since before Shelke had died. He still felt a great deal of sorrow at that, despite knowing that it wasn't really his fault, and it seemed Tifa still blamed him.

He couldn't hold it against her. Shelke's death had only been about two and a half to three months previously; it wasn't really enough time to get over it.

There was a cough and Vincent turned. Cloud was standing there; from the look on his face, he'd witnessed the entire thing.

"Give her time, Vincent." He said, softly. "Shelke was like a sister to her. Rightly or not, she's angry. She'll get over it."

Vincent raised his eyebrow. "Grudges are a hard thing to dismiss, Strife. But I don't hold her any ill will. Her feelings are understandable." He set his glass down and offered Cloud something to drink. Cloud smiled.

"Yuffie got any beer left?"

Vincent chuckled. "She just stocked up last night." He gestured for Cloud to precede him into the refrigerator.

**- - - - - **

At some point Tasha, who no longer had an opponent to fight, joined them in the kitchen, snagging one of the beers for herself. Despite her obvious femininity, she, Yuffie and Cally had all quickly garnered the title "Just one of the guys." Tasha was no exception to it – she could outswear Cid, outdrink Barret, and could confuse Cloud in 2.1 seconds flat. "Which isn't that hard." She would say, nudging Cloud teasingly.

She was also a medic and would be invaluable during the fight. Her command over curative spells was unmatched by anyone Vincent had ever known, with the exception of Aeris, but unlike the poor flower girl, Tasha could, and did, fight back.

"Mmmm, beer." She said, using her lighter to pop the top. Vincent watched.

"Does every smoker know that trick?"

"Most likely." She said, grinning and tipping the bottle toward her mouth. She downed half of it in one swig, burped, and then down went the rest of it.

"Very ladylike." Cloud said, rolling his eyes. She snorted and tossed the bottle into the garbage.

"If I were worried about being ladylike, I'd be up in Quisty's room, helping her assemble chem bombs." She coughed and reached for another beer; she used this one to show Vincent the trick of popping a top using a lighter. It involved putting the edge of the Bic between the rim of the cap and your forefinger; one used the forefinger as a sort of fulcrum to the lighter's lever.

"Rufus is coming in. Let's see if I can peg him in the forehead." Tasha said, smirking. Vincent raised his eyebrow.

As predicted, Rufus walked in. Shortly after, he was thwacked in the head by a beer bottle cap which had been launched with the force of...well, an opening beer. Tasha laughed and pointed at him, and Vincent and Cloud smiled.

"Hey!" Rufus exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. Then he turned and his face lit up. "Beer! Alright!"

Vincent commandeered those in the kitchen to help with dinner. Cloud groaned.

"I can't cook worth beans, Vincent." He complained.

"Doesn't matter, you'll be making salad." Vincent replied, a smirk on his face. Cloud sighed. It was a lost argument.

It was very laid-back that night; They finally had everything taken care of and evacuations were taking place across the world. More people had shown up to receive supplies to stay at home with. Yuffie's house, which was going to be a distribution point for the WRO squads in Kalm, was well-stocked, both with Shinra-issue rations, and with weapons, materia, and what Yuffie called "Real Food." She'd also stocked the entire second freezer, much to Cid's delight, with cigarettes.

"Yuffie, I'm gonna snag a pack." Tasha said, heading toward that freezer later on. The children had all gone to sleep and the adults were roaming the house, celebrating and delaying sleep. "I can give you a few gil later."

"Don't worry about it." Yuffie said, waving her hand. She was playing Kenny on the snowboarding game, and losing. "Damn it! This course is hard."

"The trick is to get all of the black X's." Tasha said, coming back in and lighting one of the frozen cigarettes. "They multiply your point score by ten."

"Don't give her any tips, damnit." Kenny was sweating with the effort. "This is the first time I've ever beaten someone at Kick Doubt."

"Ah, that's just cuz I'm a goddess at it." Tasha tipped back yet another beer.

Vincent snorted. He was pleased, however – everyone was getting along great. In his experience, that didn't normally happen when you crammed 28 people in a house. There were a few minor tiffs; for instance, Tifa's intense dislike of him, which he'd just realized today. And the time that Rufus and Cloud had gotten into a fight about how to organize the weapons and Rufus called Cloud a chocobo-ass looking bastard and stormed off before turning and pelting him with low-level materia. And when Barret and Cid had gotten into a swearing match over whose ratchet Barret was clutching.

The one that disturbed him the most was the Tifa thing. The other two had been quickly quieted down and settled; Rufus had apologized to Cloud (But insisted he still looked like a chocobo ass), and Cid had shut up as soon as Shera had thrust HIS ratchet into his hand. But Tifa still hated him.

Once again, he could not blame her. He had killed Shelke, despite the fact that he'd had no control over himself.

Still, to be hated so by someone he considered a friend – it hurt. A lot.

He carefully stayed away from her that night – because it had become something of a party. After Kenny beat Yuffie at the snowboarding game, she dug out her copy of Dance Dance Revolution and the dance pads, and the more limber of the group took their turns at it – Tifa included.

Vincent left at this point. It was weighing on his mind – he could still clearly see her face, glaring at him before she stormed out of the kitchen.

He went to the study. It was the only place that didn't currently contain someone outside of his room, and eventually Yuffie would find him _there_ and ask what was wrong.

Someone found him, but that someone wasn't Yuffie. It was Tifa.

"Yuffie, are you...oh." Her voice fell flat as she realized that it was not Yuffie staring out the window into the street, but Vincent. "It's you."

He sighed. "I left so you wouldn't have to bear my presence, and then you accidentally find me. I apologize."

There was a silence and he thought she had left. He turned, and she was staring at him.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked, feeling some sort of remark was required. It sounded hopelessly stupid, and he inwardly swore at himself for being so awkward.

She shook her head, lowering her gaze. "I'm sorry, Vincent. I don't want to hate you, but..."

"It's an understandable reaction." He replied, kindly.

She burst into tears. He was not expecting that, and was at odds on what to do – he could go to her side and help her, as he would help any other upset friend; but that could only irritate her more because she disliked him so.

"I just..." She stuttered. "When they found her...what was left of her...Vincent, he gnawed her to pieces! It must have been...a horrible fucking way to go. And every time I'm near you I remember that it was you, you did it to her, and I try so hard to remember that it's not your fault and it never works. I try to get along with you because Yuffie loves you, but..."

"It's probably not best to pretend things like that just to spare feelings." Vincent remarked. "If you are angry, say it. I won't take offense."

"See? That's what I'm talking about." She sobbed harder. "I can't. I want to scream at you and hate you and tell you what a horrible person you are, but then you go and be nice and...it's really fucking hard to hate a nice guy."

His eyes widened. "I'm...sorry? Would you rather me call you names and insult your heritage?"

She laughed through the tears. "You must think I'm insane."

"Not at all." Vincent crossed the room, having made a decision, and held out a hand to help her up. She took it, cringing at his touch. "I expect that if our positions were reversed I would feel the same." He looked her directly in the eyes. "But Tifa, please know, that not a day goes by where I don't think of what happened to Shelke, and the countless others that the Galian Beast...that I...murdered in cold blood. I can still see them, screaming and running. It's not a pleasant sight. I almost killed Denzel that night, you know." He sighed and turned back toward the window. "She saved his life by distracting me. I wish I could have stopped him...stopped myself..."

He sighed again. "I won't lie to you, Tifa. I regret and mourn the past, but I can't change it. If I had such an ability, I think things would have turned out a great deal differently. There is a lot in my past, Shelke included, that I regret immensely. But there are things that make it worth living, or else...I would probably be back in the coffin at Nibelheim."

"Like what?" Tifa whispered. She was still mourning, he realized, and even though she was able to have moments of fun and happiness, she would then remember that a certain person wasn't there to enjoy that fun and it would leave her as suddenly as it had come. He was well-acquainted with the feeling.

"Yuffie." He said. He sat. "Watching my sister and Rufus grow closer. Seeing Cid's son imitate him. You and Cloud and your orphans." He looked up at her. "All of AVALANCHE, really."

She sat back down on the ground. "That's it, then. You aren't an emotionless asshole." She sighed. "The emotionless asshole was easier to hate, too." Her eyes closed. "You really do love her, don't you?"

"More than life." He whispered.

"Do you have friends, Vincent?" She asked. She looked up at him. "Friends that you would give your life for?"

He blinked. "Of course." He replied. "Pretty much anyone in this house, I expect."

She obviously had not expected that answer and was silent for a long while. "You consider us...friends?"

Vincent frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. You were just always...so cold. I thought you didn't care."

"Of course I cared. I may have been a monster, but I wasn't a heartless one." Vincent sighed. "Tifa, if I did not consider you and the others my friends, I wouldn't be sitting here trying to explain myself to you. I'm not going to lie, it hurts me very deeply that you have this hatred for me in your heart. But I understand it, very much so, and I can't bring myself to hold a grudge against you for it. If it were reversed, if you had killed Cid or Rufus or, God forbid, Yuffie, I would feel the same."

"Would you want revenge?" She asked him, sharply. "Like I do?"

"Probably." Vincent sighed. "I can't really offer you any revenge. You can hit me, if you like, but you won't be hitting the same person who killed Shelke."

Tifa's fingers curled into a fist and for a brief moment Vincent thought she was going to take him up on his offer. But instead she reared back and punched the floor. Her hair hung in front of her face and her breath came raggedly.

"I...I can't." She said. "I can't do it. I want to and I can't."

"I'm sorry." He said. He stood and offered her his hand again. "If there is anything I can do to help..."

"No, thanks." She said, standing. She looked him in the eyes. "I am...so angry, Vincent. Why her?"

His eyes closed and she could see the pain cross his face. It really had hurt him, to realize he'd murdered someone he cared about. Not only that, but he'd killed off his last connection with Lucrecia in the process. That had to hurt. She felt a bit of sympathy for him.

"She got in the way." He whispered. "She got in the way and she paid the price. It was...a noble, if unneeded, death." His eyes opened. "If I thought killing myself would make it better, I would, but I daresay a lot more people would suffer from it."

"...I believe you." Tifa said, quietly. "You don't lie much, do you?"

Vincent shook his head. "I lied enough in the Turks. I've always figured it was wiser to tell the truth." A look of skepticism was written on her face. "Not necessarily the _whole_ truth..."

A harsh laugh escaped her. "Guilt by omission. Whatever, Vincent. I don't know when I'm going to forgive you, but I think that...having talked to you about it...it might come sooner. I'm sorry."

He spread his hands, indicating that it didn't bother him.

She left then, with no goodbye. None was needed. They understood each other perfectly.

She turned though, and looked at him. "You needn't miss the party because of me." She said, clearly. "I think I can stand being in your presence without freaking out. I've been doing it all month."

Then she was gone.

He sank into the chair again and sighed, painfully, putting his hand to his head. He was developing a headache from all of this stress, and he didn't foresee it leaving any time soon.

"Hey, Vince!" Yuffie said, bounding into the study. Then she stopped. "What's wrong? Headache?"

"Tifa hates me." He said it before he could stop himself. "I understand why, but..."

Yuffie looked shocked. "I'm sure you're just imagining things, Vincent..."

"I am not. She said so herself." Vincent said. He looked up at her. "I understand. I don't blame her for hating me. But...it disturbs me. It hurts."

"Of course it would." Yuffie said. She sat next to him, on the arm of the chair. "God. I didn't even know, she didn't tell me. And I asked her to take pictures of you for me..."

"And she did. She's a good friend." Vincent sighed. "She's right. I am a monster."

Yuffie's eyes narrowed. "Did she say that?"

"No. But she thinks it." He laughed. "She actually called me a nice guy. I think she was angry because I was concerned for her. She said it made me harder to hate." He closed his eyes and leaned back.

Yuffie moved behind him and began working out the kinks in his neck. There were a lot – it had been a stressful month.

"You're not a monster, Vincent, and Tifa knows that." She brushed his hair out of the way to get to a particularly bad spot in his vertebrae. "You...are a very, very unfortunate victim of circumstance. You didn't ask to be able to turn into the Galian Beast. You didn't ask for Hojo and Lucrecia to turn you into that. If you had, then you'd be a monster. But you're an average guy who got the shit end of the deal. Tifa knows that, she knows all about your past. And eventually she'll come 'round."

"I hope so." Vincent said. He felt listless.

"I mean, if Cally and Tasha can forgive you..."

"Why would Tasha need to forgive me?" His face became confused.

"Oh, Jesus. You didn't know?" She came and sat in front of him. "Vince, you killed her sister. The same night you got Shelke."

Vincent stared at her. "What?"

"I mean, Tasha's not the kind to mourn for too long, but if she wanted to she could definitely hold a grudge. But I mean, she knows all about everything; Cally explained it to her. Then she just shrugged and said 'We've all gotta go someday. At least Ashley got a cool death.' Then she chugged a beer."

Vincent snorted and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes.

"If it makes you feel better, she died pretty fast. He snapped her neck."

"It doesn't."

"Sorry."

They sat there for a long time, Yuffie looking at him concernedly. Then Vincent sat up.

"I think I need to go to bed." He said. He stood and left the room.

Yuffie stared after him, grief written on her face. She wished, more than anything, that she hadn't had to tell him that.

More than anything.

**- - - - - **

On the way to his room, Vincent encountered Tasha.

"Oh, hey, Vince! You comin' down to the party?" She exclaimed, handing him one of the several beers in her hand. She wiggled her cigarette in her mouth. "I think I've got everyone convinced to play Twister. It'll be quite a sight to see Cid tryin' to bend himself around on that mat, don't you think?" She chortled.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded. She looked startled for a moment, and then her expression darkened; she obviously knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Because it didn't matter. That wasn't you. You're Vincent, and you're a pretty cool dude." She frowned. "Vincent, you are talking to a person who has battled so many personal demons you can't even begin to believe it. I would make a psychoanalyst squeal in delight." She sighed at his look of skepticism. "Look, here's the short of it. It's a lot more complicated, actually, but this is the basic story. I have bipolar disorder, Vincent. Kenny's remarkably good at dealing with the mood changes; they're very sudden and it's like I'm not the same person anymore. I've done some really horrible stuff when I'm going through a manic phase. Sometimes it's just obsessive cleaning; other times I start trying to murder my husband or poison people. I get very paranoid and generally I have little or no control over myself. In my world, you learn to differentiate between personalities; there's me, and there's bipolar me. And there's you, and there's the Galian Beast. Two distinctly different entities, housed in the same body." She snorted. "Granted, mine can be controlled with a little lithium, but still."

"But..."

"No buts, Vince. You're talking to one of the few people who can understand, vaguely, what it is that you went through. I've never actually killed anyone in my manic phases, but I've come really close. I can't hold it against you, because you're not the one who killed my sister. You're just Vincent, my best friend's brother. End of story."

Vincent was filled with a sense of gratitude. "Thank you, Tasha."

Her eyebrows raised. "For what? Being sensible? Ignore Tifa, Vince. She'll get over it soon. Don't let it drag you down." She forced the beer on him again. "And come down to the party, there's loads of fun stuff going on."

Vincent smiled and followed her. He was surrounded by some amazing people.

That was a thought that was further reinforced when he saw the shapes Yuffie managed to twist herself into on the Twister mat. She winked at him during one and he almost grabbed her and forced her to recreate it upstairs, naked, in privacy. Almost.

And how a man as short as Cid Highwind managed to pull off the moves he did was beyond him, but Vincent was quite sure he never wanted to see it again. He was also pretty sure that Rufus, who was currently beneath Cid, also never wanted to see it again.

Later, when Yuffie challenged him to a game of Dance Dance Revolution, he gave in. Tasha and Cally stood nearby, trying to give him pointers, but he couldn't see the point of the game and gave up halfway through their first round. Tasha stepped in and proved herself to be quite good at it indeed. Then Cally took her place and Vincent wondered how the hell she could play in heels.

The next morning he cast esuna on anyone who wanted it.

**- - - - - **

Yuffie was handing out her emergency kits like it was going out of style.

The house had been overrun with WRO squads and other assorted people running around with weapons. Shera, who wasn't a fighter, had retired to the well-stocked (with food, drink, and emergency lighting) basement, which was sealed against attack and had a metal door, with the children. She took the video games, a few TV's, some books and board games, and a lot of coloring implements with her.

In the last week the monsters had started to grow bolder; one had attacked Yuffie's reinforced door last night.

Finally, everyone had their gear and weapons and materia, and was standing in Yuffie's living room, which had been temporarily changed into a first aid center. Heavy drop carpets, sterilized, lay on the floor, and several gurneys and operating tables were nearby. A group of volunteer doctors and nurses stood by, waiting.

The medics were near them, under Tasha's capable care. They were the ones who would risk their lives trying to save their fellow fighters. Their emergency kits contained quite a few extra items.

"Okay, guys. Tseng and the Turks have been working all month to map out Kalm and give us all sectors to patrol." Rufus said, handing out maps and assignment sheets. Yuffie and Vincent were giving those assembled radios. "With this, you will always be able to tell where everyone is; I suspect that a lot of the lightning-based animals will start attacking the power lines fairly soon and I don't know if the PHS system is going to hold up to it. That means that your GPS's and the communiques will be a no-go. The radios will work no matter what, and the maps and sheets are old-fashioned, but they get the job done. The maps have been divided into sectors." He paused and inhaled. "We're going in groups of two. The medics will patrol several sectors at a time, both to hunt and to help out if need be. They'll be the ones on motorcycles. Everyone else'll be on foot unless they've brought their own transportation. Check out empty buildings and cars, too, because we need to eliminate as much of the threat as we can in case."

"Everyone have their restore materias?" Yuffie called out. There were noises of affirmation; everyone was to have at least one low-level Restore materia on them at all times; the medics got the mastered ones.

Yuffie had gone to give Tasha her mastered materia and the girl had grinned. "Save it for someone else. I've got this." She held out a glowing green orb.

"Master magic?" Yuffie breathed. "Wow."

"I have a whole set." Tasha had said. "My dad gave it to me in his will. He mastered them himself." Her voice was understandably proud.

"Armor? Weapons? Emergency kits? Radios? Lunches?" The bag lunches had been prepared _en masse_ by Vincent, Tasha and Cally the night before – Yuffie knew that everyone would be able to survive on the MRE's in her emergency kits, but decent food often improved morale. The lunches contained bottled water and flavor packets, sandwiches made of some chicken prepared by Kenny and Tasha, on Tasha's sweet bread, a side dish (these varied depending on what had been in the kitchen; some had potato salad in little disposable cups, some had chips, and some had flavored crackers), and a sweet (which also varied; there were pudding cups, baked pastries, and fruit snacks), as well as a utensil kit and napkin. Each lunch also contained a Snickers bar, which Yuffie stoutly defended as "the best quick-energy boost on the planet." She claimed that Snickers bars had made do for carbs and sugars when she had nothing else.

More affirmative noises.

Everyone was ushered into Yuffie's dining room, where more food than could possibly be eaten had been organized. Rufus and Yuffie, both born organizers, recognized the need for well-fed troops, and had arranged for everyone to eat prior to departure.

It was a hearty, filling stew with rolls, and it was a good thing to have – it was freezing outside in the pre-Halloween weather. Little storms had come through the past week, littering the street with small piles of plowed snow.

As everyone left they grabbed one of the hundreds of thermoses sitting along the entrance way table. They were all full of hot coffee.

Yuffie was a very gracious host.

Tasha hefted her pack to her back and checked her watch. "The alignment starts in...twenty minutes. We'd better get out there."

Vincent nodded and he and Yuffie left.

Tasha kissed Kenny goodbye on the landing; seeing as Shera was not fighting and Tasha would be on her own with the medics, Kenny had been assigned to fight with Cid. It was a decent match; both men were chain-smoking swearing machines with the fighting skills to back it up. Yuffie watched the scene sadly, hoping that they would see each other again.

At least if her or Vincent died, they'd be with each other. Naturally, they were fighting partners. She closed her eyes briefly. _Leviathan, Da Chao...protect us. Please._

The three of them went into the garage. Their bikes stood there; Yuffie's Sportster, Tasha's Ninja, and Kenny's Kawasaki, which he was lending Vincent for the occasion – he was going to be hoofing it with Cid.

"Ready, guys?" Yuffie asked. There was no hint of nervousness in her voice, and Vincent found himself proud of her.

"Sure thang." Tasha said. She lit a cigarette and hopped on her bike, revving it to life. The other two did the same, except that Vincent, not being much of a smoker, did not light a cigarette.

Yuffie did. Both she and Tasha had brought several packs of cigarettes; they figured they'd be needing them.

Then they exited the garage and closed it using the automatic garage door opener. They'd no sooner got to the street than Vincent was shooting at monsters flying toward them. Yuffie let out a whooping battle cry and let loose with her own barrage of bullets.

Vincent and Yuffie were assigned an inner corridor of Kalm, one that was heavily populated with people who had refused to leave. Tasha would be patrolling that corridor as well; because it was so heavily populated, Rufus figured it needed a whole medic to itself. Essentially, they were a trio.

Vincent swung around on Kenny's bike, reminding himself to have the thing serviced and buy Kenny new tires, and shot at a wolf that was bearing down him. The thing looked rabid.

Yuffie was alternating between shooting and launching throwing stars. Her Conformer was on her back; to the best of his knowledge, this was the first time she'd drug it out since the Deepground incident so many years ago.

"I'm saving the world, Vince." She'd said, grinning impishly. "Of course I've gotta bring the Conformer with me, it's tradition!"

He smiled, remembering this, and aimed the Death Penalty at yet another monster. Like Yuffie, he'd brought several weapons, but his were all firearms.

Tasha let go of her handlebars and reached to her belt; she'd also brought several firearms, fighting gloves, and an assortment of other weapons. She grasped two guns and pulled them out, firing opposing shots at a large, angry Zemzelett that was flying toward her.

It took them the full twenty minutes to get to their sector, so infested was the town with monsters. Right before they crossed the border, they heard a familiar, chilling scream.

Yuffie's eyes widened, and as one, they all turned their bikes toward the noise.

In the center of the town's square stood Tifa, who must have gotten separated from Cloud somehow. She was clearly outnumbered and was attempting to fight her way out of a clearly losing battle. Monsters had honed in on her scent entirely too easily and had surrounded her.

Vincent aimed Death Penalty carefully and thanked Leviathan that he hadn't worn his gauntlet. Urging the motorcycle at the crowd, he took out as many monsters as he could before he scooped Tifa up and deposited her behind him on the bike.

"V-V-Vincent!" Tifa cried, hysterically.

"Where is Cloud?" Tasha asked. Her voice was terse. "You guys were supposed to stay together."

"I know. I'm not sure where he is." Tifa's fingers fumbled with her belt before she extracted her radio, which she used to contact Cloud. He was nearby and had panicked when he heard her screaming, so they met halfway and left Tifa in his able care.

Tasha bid Vincent and Yuffie farewell; hers was a different mission than theirs.

"Ya'll know how to get ahold of me if you need me." She called over her shoulder, grinning as she gunned down one of the alleyways.

Everyone seemed to be paying attention to Rufus's warnings – there was nary a soul in sight, only monsters. Yuffie and Vincent dispatched as many as they could.

They took refuge in an old bank vault for lunch, six hours into the alignment. They were both tired, worse for wear, and starving.

"Tasha, come in." Yuffie said into the radio, shortly after she and Vincent had discovered the vault. There was silence for a moment, in which Yuffie's heart leapt, before a voice responded.

"Tasha here." She sounded as tired as they were.

"Lunchtime. Where are you?"

"Knee deep in some very large, very angry bats, near the old church."

Yuffie looked around until she located the church steeple. "We're north, north east of there, on Kalm Street. Meet us?"

"Sure thing. Lemme just..." And a few gunshots rang out throughout the town. "There. Okay, be there in a sec."

She roared up and the three of them drove their bikes right into the abandoned bank.

It really was an abandoned bank, and had been since the Meteor incident ten years previous. The vault was the sort that also opened from the inside, so they parked their bikes and themselves in there.

Tasha had a battery-powered camping lantern with her, so she set it up in the center while they ate their bag lunches. The three of them looked haunted.

"There's so many of them." Yuffie said. She glanced over at Vincent.

He looked very haggard, an unusual style for the gunman. She knew he was thinking about what the alternative would be; what would have happened if Quistis hadn't removed the monsters from his mind. He'd be their enemy, and they his prey.

It wasn't a pretty picture. Not at all.

**- - - - - **

Half a town away, Rufus and Cally were fighting for their lives.

Because Rufus Shinra was not a wimp, and on top of it, he needed fighters. So he fought, and hoped to God that Yuffie, who he'd left the company to in his will, was a good enough leader if need be.

"Fuck." Cally muttered, angrily. She released the clips on her gun and inserted new ones; the old ones she shoved into her backpack, to be reloaded when they had a chance.

"There's too many of them." She said. A spray of bullets followed this comment, set free from her Baretta. Rufus smirked.

"Ah, come on. Let's find somewhere to eat lunch. There has to be somewhere safe in this benighted town."

They both had bikes; Rufus had got her one specifically for this, because he wanted to ride his. He was a fighter, but he wasn't stupid, and he didn't have the heavy-duty armor he'd furnished the WRO with, either.

"Consider it a bonus." He'd said, when she narrowed her eyes in denial of the gift. Really, the reason he'd gotten her one is that he was fairly certain that he wouldn't be able to pay attention to fighting and steering if she was sitting behind him, clutching to his midsection. It would get them both killed.

They drove and killed, drove and killed, trying to find something, anything that would provide them protection enough to eat something and reload clips.

Rufus spotted it. He let out a happy cry and drove for it, confusing Cally and almost sending her into a spin.

"It" was a storm cellar with metal doors. It was wide open. Rufus, feeling like something of a daredevil, drove right down the stairs.

Cally, not to be outdone, did the same, gasping in relief as she came to a stop in the basement.

Rufus closed the doors and they did a quick run-through; there was nothing there. This place was obviously not occupied by anything, people or monster. They sat and ate in the darkness, and Cally reloaded her clips by feel.

They had flashlights, of course, but no way to hold them up while they ate.

As they were preparing to leave, there was a loud crashing, and Rufus' eyes widened. It had come from the metal storm door.

Drawing his gun, he went to the door and tried to open it. Tried was the operative word, because it wouldn't budge. The building next door had collapsed in on itself and a large chunk of metal and concrete had landed on it.

There were no other exits.

Cally burst into tears. This was a first for Rufus, who had never seen his capable, independent assistant cry from anything other than happiness.

"It's not that big a deal. We'll call for help after the alignment." He snorted ruefully. "That's six hours from now, of course, and we can't fight unless something knocks the plaster out of the way."

"I'm claustrophobic." Cally said. She was trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"Oh." Rufus felt really dumb now. "I'm sorry, Cally, I shouldn't have come..."

"No, we needed a safe place to eat." Cally said. He could hear the tears but he could not see it; there were no windows or doors to this cellar, and the darkness was complete.

Finally he dug his flashlight out and turned it on; it was a comfort to see light. Cally was obviously miserable and trying hard to overcome her fear.

Rufus turned his flashlight off and pocketed it. His heart was pounding. They were stuck and he really hoped Cally didn't start losing it again.

He came up to her side and reached out, coming into contact with her shoulder. She jumped but realized it was him.

"It's okay, Cally, we'll be fine." He assured her. She was slightly hysterical and trying really hard to maintain her sanity.

And knowing that it might be the only chance he ever had to do it, he slipped his arms around her from behind. She tensed slightly and then relaxed, giving into the comfort that his presence gave her. He got her heart rate down to a normal level before letting go and getting his flashlight out again.

"Let's set up a place to sleep." He suggested. "Since we can't fight, we might as well rest."

They found a mattress – one mattress – in the corner, and they, distrustingly, spread out one of the canvas pup tents out over it. Using their packs as pillows and the other pup tent as a blanket, they fell asleep there – Rufus with his arms around her again.

**- - - - - **

When the three of them stepped out of the bank vault, bikes at their sides and guns at the ready, it was to a deathly silence.

Vincent looked up and his eyes widened. He'd never seen the moon so large – it was a direct part of the alignment, and was so close to the planet that you could see individual craters. He had a momentary flashback to Meteor and shook his head, turning around.

"We're at the apex." Yuffie whispered, glancing down at her wristwatch. She got onto her bike. "It's like the eye of a storm. The monsters are probably all doing what you are, Vincent, and looking up at the moon."

"We better git." Tasha said. She holstered her gun and reached to board her bike.

An unearthly screaming caught their attention. It was from the other end of the square.

"Vincent..." Yuffie whispered. Vincent turned in the direction she was looking at – toward the howling – and his breath caught in his throat.

"Well, well. I was wondering if we'd come into contact with you again, Vincent Valentine."

Vincent's mouth, out of habit, moved back as if to bare fangs. He let a little hiss out. He recognized that voice.

Four figures, surrounded by dust and darkness, stepped out.

"What, you thought you could just banish us and we'd be gone?" The Galian Beast stepped out of the shadows and let loose with a howl. "Right at our apex of power?"

Chaos looked at Vincent; to his surprise, he had retained the body that Vincent himself had given him. When he'd first drank the vial that Lucrecia had left him, all those years ago, that had activated the Chaos demon in his body, Chaos had always been in his true form, a demon with a great purple body and crimson wings. Over time, as the being got more used to him, he'd altered his shape to that of his host's; it made the transformation less painful and left both Chaos and Vincent with more power to wreak havoc with.

"You made a mistake, Valentine, unleashing them upon the world." Chaos whispered. His voice, without Vincent's vocal cords to muss things up, was dark and deadly.

"Urrrrgh!" Agreed Death Gigas. Vincent sneered. Death Gigas had never been one for comprehendable speech.

Hellmasker simply looked at Vincent and then pulled the ripcord on his chainsaw, sending a clatter of noise throughout the quiet square.

The Galian Beast roared with triumph, along with the beasts of the city. Suddenly the square was surrounded by monsters.

"Yuffie, look out!" Tasha exclaimed, her cigarette dropping from her mouth. Yuffie looked up and saw that the Galian Beast had jumped upward and was launching himself toward her.

She gunned her bike into gear and shot off. The Galian Beast roared in anger and turned toward Tasha, hoping to exact revenge. She escaped the same way Yuffie had.

"That's it, then." Chaos said. He gave Vincent a haunted smile; it almost looked apologetic. "You are alone to fight us. The demons of your past."

"In a very real and literal sense." Vincent said. He cocked the Death Penalty and Chaos laughed.

"That toy may work on the others, Vincent Valentine...but it will not work on me." The demon leapt upward and began beating his wings.

Vincent put his left hand on the accelerator of Kenny's bike and shot off.

Death Gigas had never been an intelligent monster, and was shortly dispatched of with a rather large-caliber bullet through the forehead. Hellmasker took a bit more time, as he was swinging his chainsaw around like a maniac and deflecting bullets with it, but eventually Vincent managed to pull off some amazing mid-air acrobatics (still clinging to Kenny's bike; he was fairly certain that he'd kill Vincent if his bike came back in pieces, no matter what the explanation) and get him from above.

It came down to Vincent and Chaos.

Chaos opened his hands. "I don't want to fight you, Valentine. I have...business to attend to." He glanced upward, up toward the moon, and then back at Vincent, smiling. It was a smile that did nothing to settle Vincent's nerves. "I wonder where the Galian Beast got himself off to?"

"Do not try to distract me." Vincent snarled, cocking his gun. Chaos laughed.

"I speak nothing but the truth. I was summoned here, and I have a job to do. I admit, though, that the thought of coming back to meet up with...my old host...had some appeal. After all, it's not every day you can have a...family reunion like this."

"What possible job could you have?" Vincent responded. "You have one goal in life – to usher in the end of the world. And that day is not today." He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you humans." Chaos laughed. It was an unearthly laugh. "You think in such simple terms. And, after all, it was you who brought me here." The demon pointed at Vincent's chest where, he knew, the Protomateria lie.

"Or rather, your little ninja princess." Chaos sneered. "Really, Vincent. I leave for seven years, and I come back and find you've attached yourself to a pre-pubescent little girl. Still, better than that Shelke girl..."

Vincent snarled and drew his fist back out of habit, forgetting that he didn't have a claw to punch with.

"Spare me." Chaos rolled his eyes. "You forget, Vincent, that I am many things. These are things that you should know, considering how long we had to put up with each other. I am not merely a demon to haunt you, nor am I merely the harbinger of the end of the world. No, my purpose is a little more...complicated." He pointed toward the Protomateria yet again.

Vincent glanced down at his chest, and was startled to see that it was reacting to Chaos' presence; his chest glowed purple.

"You're a summon?" He roared in anger, drawing his weapon again.

"And a whole hell of a lot more dangerous than that wimp Choco/Mog." Chaos sneered. "But it isn't you who summoned me, as I said."

"Who..." Vincent stopped and went through the last few minutes of their conversation in his mind. "_Yuffie_ summoned you?"

"I'm sure she didn't mean to." Chaos chuckled. He stood on tiptoe and listened, then launched himself back into the sky. "Ask your princess...if she survives her encounter with the Galian Beast...about Da Chao sometime." And with that, the demon was gone.

Vincent's heart stopped beating.

And in that moment of silence, a lone human scream broke out through the noise of thousands of monsters.

**- - - - - **

"Rufus...come in..." A noise.

Rufus opened his eyes and two things flew to his mind; one, it was completely dark, wherever he was.

And two, his arms were wrapped around someone.

He blinked and the last few hours rushed back at him. He winced and then glanced around; the little red light on his radio was on, signaling that it was receiving a transmission.

"Rufus..." A voice said. It was Reeve.

Rufus snatched up the radio. "Reeve, thank God. I couldn't get through to anyone on this stupid thing." He hissed.

"Well, our transponder tower went down for a few hours." Reeve said. He sounded exhausted. "Good news, though, it's back up, and we haven't had that many deaths. Lots of injuries, but not many deaths...and from what I can hear, no one from the civilian sector has been stupid enough to go wandering around."

"That's great!" Rufus exclaimed. He sat up, ignoring the stirring next to him. "What time is it?"

"It's just after 1 a.m...we've got about three, four hours left of the alignment, and by all historical data, everything should be back to normal after that." Reeve sighed. "Quistis went back to the labs in Healin to check on Akai, and the bird's been calming down. She thinks it'll be over almost as soon as the clock hits 12 hours."

"That...is very good news." He said, grinning. Then his face fell. "Hey, Reeve, I've been stuck in a storm shelter for three hours. It seems like a building may have collapsed on the door. Cally and I are stuck here until someone can come get us out."

"No problem." Reeve said. Rufus winced; everyone he talked to sounded like they were going to pass out and sleep for a week after this. "I'll get a lock on your location and have someone come get you as soon as the monsters start to calm down."

"Er..." Rufus looked around. "How long do you think that'll be?"

Reeve sighed. "Not sure...I'll let you know in a few hours. But I suggest finding something to occupy your time with until then."

Rufus closed his eyes. There wouldn't be any more fighting for him and Cally, then. He felt his assistant sit up and yawn quietly.

"Alright, Reeve. Thanks. Keep me updated."

"Sure thing. Tuesti out."

Rufus sighed and set the radio down on the mattress; surprisingly comfortable, considering how ratty it had looked. He looked toward Cally, who he couldn't see but knew was there.

"So, only a few hours?" She asked. A nervous wobble was in her voice.

"Yeah." Rufus said. He reached for his flashlight and turned it on. "Why don't you have a cigarette, something to eat? It'll calm you down if you don't have to think about it."

Cally nodded and reached for her pack.

They'd already eaten their sack lunches that Vincent had made; reluctantly, they drew out some meals, ready to eat. Yuffie had prepared her kits well, and only the three best kinds of MRE's that the WRO had to offer were in there: Spaghetti, pot roast, and macaroni and cheese.

"I suggest the spaghetti or the mac and cheese." Rufus said, kindly. "The pot roast tends to...not go down well for people without Yuffie's iron constitution." Cally giggled and opened her mac and cheese one.

Just to be different, Rufus ate a spaghetti one. They set the food pouches heating in the water-activated thermal cookers (using half of a bottle of water each) and then waited for their warmed food.

"You can eat them cold." Rufus said, suddenly. "But they're better warm. I helped Reeve develop them."

"You don't have to talk to try to make me feel better." Cally said. In the light of the candles they'd found in Yuffie's emergency kits – Rufus didn't know if she normally put them there, or if this was a new thing – she smiled, nervously, and took a drag off her cigarette.

He chuckled. "Well, I can't have you freaking out and trying to dig your way out. Might attract some unwanted attention." They could both hear the monsters screaming outside – through concrete walls and rubble, so Leviathan only knew how loud it was to actually be out there. "If they can hear us over that, that is."

A few more minutes of silence, and then their MRE's were ready. They tore the tops off of the plastic-coated metal pouches, and dug in with the provided utensils. It wasn't the best, because they were Meals, Ready to Eat, and by definition they were going to cause some gastrointestinal distress and be distinctly preservative-ridden. However, they tasted delicious; because they were hungry, and because it was something to distract them from the predicament they were in.

When they were done eating, Cally lit yet another cigarette with shaking hands while Rufus looked around the room with his flashlight. It was small; about the size of his room at home. He wouldn't try keeping a large amount of people – in fact, no more than two or three – in this storm shelter in the event of need.

He, honestly, couldn't see why Cally was so afraid. It was just a storm shelter. It didn't even have a building over it. But she was obviously terrified and on edge, and it bothered him to see her in such a state.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging noise from outside – something had obviously hit the side of the storm shelter, which was only half underground. Cally jumped, dropped her cigarette, and let out a scream of terror.

Rufus' eyes shot open and he quickly put his arms around Cally and clapped a hand over her mouth. He had no doubt in his mind that if monsters knew that there were people down here, they could easily break through the concrete and mortar. Cally, hyperventilating with wide eyes, stopped screaming into his hand and looked around manically.

Both were deadly quiet for at least two minutes straight, waiting to see if something would break through. Thankfully, it seemed as though in the commotion, Cally's scream had gone unheeded. Rufus sighed and relaxed.

"...You can let go now." She said, calmly. Rufus looked and saw that he was still holding her, although his hand was no longer over her mouth.

He blinked, and then smiled slowly. "I don't think I want to."

Cally blushed and glanced out into the room. She didn't protest.

They sat like that for a few more minutes, before Cally looked back in his general direction. Rufus, never one to ignore an opportunity, took that moment to kiss her.

Her eyes shot open before closing slowly. She gave in.

Needless to say, Rufus and Cally found something to occupy themselves with. And Cally became somewhat less of a claustrophobic in the future.

**- - - - - **

Vincent ran.

His breath was labored, because he'd launched himself in the direction of the scream the moment he heard it. Because it was Yuffie screaming, and there was no way he could ever let anything happen to her. He had no idea where Tasha had gone; he hadn't run into her on his way down the corridor. Not that he wanted to run into her; he didn't have time for distractions right now. As far as he could tell, she'd gone the opposite direction of Yuffie.

He came around a corner and another scream wailed through the air. It sounded as if it were directly to his left, and he turned and faced it.

There was Yuffie. And the Galian Beast, who was smelling her hair delightedly, drooling on her. The beast's arousal was obvious, and before he had a chance to do anything, Vincent had his hand on Death Penalty.

"I wouldn't." He said, tonelessly. The beast, startled, looked back toward Vincent and snarled at him. Vincent cocked the Death Penalty and gave him a look of utter, absolute hatred.

The Galian Beast threw his head back and laughed – evil, maniacal laughter that chilled Vincent to the bone. Yuffie, pinned down beneath him, looked absolutely terrified.

Vincent aimed in.

There was a blur of purples and reds and suddenly the Galian Beast was no longer on top of Yuffie. She screamed anyway – whatever had happened, had happened fast and startled the hell out of both of them.

Vincent turned toward the disturbance. The Galian Beast lay half-dead on the ground. Above him stood Chaos.

"What..." Yuffie looked confused. Chaos turned toward them.

"How could...Chaos!" Galian Beast grated out. The beast was oozing ichor, and would soon expire entirely; Chaos was not a kind summon, and was not the sort of being to give a quick death.

Vincent cocked his eye at the beast.

Chaos sighed, and then let loose with a kick in the direction of the Galian Beast, killing it. Then he turned back toward Vincent.

"_I_ didn't give up the pointy boots. I can do that." He said, sarcastically.

Yuffie, who had by now stood up and joined Vincent in gawking at Chaos, turned to Vincent. "See? I told you. Only the undead wear boots like that."

"Yuffie..." Vincent said, quietly. She shut up, realizing they were in the presence of a being that Vincent, most likely, could not kill if it decided to turn on them.

Chaos simply watched them.

"Why are you here?" Vincent asked. Chaos rolled his yellow eyes heavenward and sighed, and then, as if he were speaking to someone incredibly stupid, began talking.

"I already told you, Valentine. Your _girlfriend_ did it. Probably a good thing, too. I don't know a single woman who'd actually want to fuck the Galian Beast." Yuffie let out a bark of laughter, and then her face became confused.

"How...?" She asked him.

He raised his eyebrow. "It's very easy, you know. You take the materia, and then you ask the summon to come and protect you. And then they do."

"I didn't summon anything! I gave all of my summon materia to Cloud and Tifa." Yuffie was indignant.

"Let's see." Chaos stopped and thought.

"Stop it with the sarcasm." Vincent said, dangerously. "Just explain." This was what he'd hated about sharing a mind with Chaos; sometimes he drove Vincent insane, because Vincent's frail human mind could not comprehend the pure power of the Chaos demon; and other times, he was...well, he was just an _asshole_.

"I really am thinking. What were the words? Ah, yes. '_Leviathan, Da Chao...protect us. Please.'_" Chaos chortled. "You didn't have any Leviathan materia nearby, but you DID have the Da Chao materia..."

Yuffie drew back in revulsion. "You're _Da Chao_?" She made a face. "I've been worshiping _Chaos_?" A disgusted sound echoed in the back of her throat.

"What'd you think Da Chao meant, silly little girl?" Chaos laughed. He'd started hovering, obviously very bored with the current trend of conversation. That was another thing Vincent hated about Chaos; he had the attention span of a two year old.

"It means 'great dynasty,' idiot." Yuffie spat out.

"Maybe in your day, but back in my day, it meant 'The Chaos.' I mean, it's almost right in front of you. C-H-A-O. Slap an S on the end and it's me." The demon did something of a bow and then snorted.

"I didn't have any...Da Chao materia, anyway. I mean, what the..."

"Yuffie." Vincent said.

"...hell is that, anyway? I think I'd know..."

"Yuffie."

"What?!" She said, turning back toward Vincent.

Vincent coughed lightly. "The Chaos materia...that is to say, the Protomateria..."

She paled. "Oh." She narrowed her eyes. "So any time I'm next to you and I pray to Da Chao, _he's_ gonna show up?"

"Quite possibly." Chaos said. "And _he_ is standing right here, you know. It's rude to talk about people right in front of them, like they're not here."

"Why_are_ you still here?" Vincent demanded.

"Because_she_ hasn't dismissed me." Chaos said, pointing at Yuffie. "Are you going to go kill something, or what? Because I'm really bored."

"How do I dismiss you?" Yuffie asked, nervously. "All of the other summons just go away when they're done."

"Well, you left it kind of open-ended." Chaos said, shrugging. He gave Vincent a look that clearly said 'You are dating an idiot.' "'Protect us' is kind of vague, don't you think?"

"Well, I mean, you can go now." Yuffie looked a little scared. Vincent could have told her not to worry; Chaos was being Chaos, which is to say – annoying.

There was a noise behind them. They turned in time to see a bunch of wolves in a pack, congregating behind them.

"Oh, great, dismiss me right when it's getting good." Chaos said. There was a noise and he was gone.

"Well, shit." Yuffie said, eying the pack. "We coulda used him."

"I'd steer clear of that." Vincent said. He drew his gun, and Yuffie grinned.

"Let's get this show on the road."

**- - - - - **

It was morning.

That is to say, the sun was just beginning to rise. The streets of Kalm were littered with bodies – a few WRO members, but mostly monsters – and all was, no pun intended, calm.

The alignment was over. It wouldn't return for several hundred – possibly even several thousand – years. The world as a whole let out a sigh of relief; all around the globe, families and villages were quietly opening doors to storm shelters and pouring out of WRO-enforced caves and looking at the sky in happiness.

In Wutai, a prayer was led in honor of Da Chao and Leviathan, as well as the Five Mighty Gods of Wutai. From his spot in the ethereal plains, Chaos smirked.

The sun's first rays found Yuffie, Vincent and Tasha (who they had met up with in a completely different part of their sector, trying unsuccessfully to Revive a dead WRO squad member) honing in on a signal Reeve had given them to track down.

"They had better thank us." Yuffie muttered as they came to a pile of rubble leaning against a small, concrete wall. Slowly, tiredly, they began clearing it away from the door.

About a half hour later, the door to the storm shelter was clear. Tasha let out a huge yawn and lit a cigarette, and they carefully slid the door open.

"Cally? Rufus?" Yuffie called out, stepping down the stairs carefully. She turned and gasped.

There was a shuffle, and a slight sigh of exasperation. Vincent and Tasha came downstairs to see what all of the fuss was about.

There, covered (barely) by the canvas of one of Yuffie's pup tents, was Cally and Rufus. No clothes, and no shame; Rufus was simply glaring at everyone and trying his best to cover up Cally, who was trying _her_ best to keep her dignity intact.

There was a silence, and then Rufus looked at Vincent sheepishly. Vincent shrugged and turned right back around – he had absolutely no desire to see his sister in post-coitus. Yuffie gaped.

Tasha, however, laughed and pointed at her best friend, hysterically wagging her finger until her laughter became a bout of smokers' cough.

"Tasha..." Cally said. Her voice was irritated. "Could you please leave so I can get dressed? You too, Yuffie."

Yuffie burst into giggles as well, and the duo ascended the stairs. Ten minutes later, flushed, the other couple joined them.

In that bright early morning light, the five studied Kalm. It was bloody, alright – the blood of humans and the ichor of monsters lay everywhere in sight. It would take a long time to clean up this mess.

Vincent looked at the group. Every one of them was worse for wear; bloodied and scraped up, wounds quickly healed over with Restore or with bandages and Nu-Skin slapped on, clothes ripped and dirty. But they were all delighted.

"It's over." Yuffie said, softly. She smiled at Vincent. "It's really over."

"That it is." Vincent agreed. They all climbed onto their bikes and took one last look around them before kicking off and heading in the direction of Yuffie's house.

**- - - - - **

AVALANCHE is a group known for partying after major successes.

However, the oldest amongst their group (not counting Vincent and Nanaki, both of whom had...special circumstances involved) were in their fourth decade and tired rather easily (Yuffie made a few pointed jabs at Barret and Cid for this, but she was exhausted too). So first, they all slept.

Cid and Kenny both wandered in about an hour later than everyone else; they had gotten distracted by a rather major event. Right toward the end of the alignment, one of the local woman who was staying in her house for the onslaught went into labor. Her husband ran for help – and the first people he ran into were Cid and Kenny.

So they'd stayed to help with that, and then made their way home.

Yuffie smiled, imagining Cid delivering a baby. Then she remembered that Cid had delivered his son and figured the newborn had been in good hands.

"In the middle of it all, kiddo, there was a brand-new fuckin' life." Cid said, chuckling and lighting a cigarette.

"Funny how that works, eh?" Yuffie said, lighting one of her own. They were standing on her back porch, watching over the now-calm forest. It was almost as calm as the house itself; 25 of the 28 occupants were asleep and dead to the world.

On the porch stood Yuffie, Cid, and Vincent. Vincent simply because he didn't feel like sleeping without Yuffie; Yuffie and Cid because they were die-hard smokers and needed one last hit of nicotine before they went to sleep. Yuffie suspected that Tasha was smoking up in her room, too lazy to actually climb out of bed.

Cid finished his smoke and headed inside; Yuffie and Vincent stood outside for a while yet.

"It's really over." Yuffie said, smirking. She turned to Vincent. "We've been preparing for over a month and we did it. Only a few people died." Her smirk quickly became a grin. "We did it, Vince!"

Vincent looked like he was going to reply; instead, a yawn escaped his mouth. Yuffie giggled and stubbed out her cigarette.

"Let's go to sleep, Vincent. We've earned it."

_Author's Notes: The snowboarding game is SSX-3, which is one of my favorite games ever, outside of FF7._

_Lord, I hate writing anything resembling battle scenes. I SUCK at them. Working on it, though._

_Oh, and side note: Cally really IS claustrophobic, in real life. When she came out here to Nevada to visit me, we went and snuck into an abandoned mine, and she about lost it. But that's alright, because I almost did too. :D_

_Oh...and the reason Cally and Rufus had no lemon is, frankly, I can't write lemon with my best friend in it. Sorry, Cally. Just know that you got that hot Rufus ass anyway. :D_

_And I know Chaos seems OOC. I'm explaining it away with the whole "Chaos was too big and demon-y for Vincent to contain properly, or any other human being, for that matter. He's really a perv and kind of annoying." I firmly believe that all immortal beings ought to have a good sense of humor. Just like Aesculapius in Guardian1's "Sunshine in Winter." Actually, I think that my concept of Chaos was part him, and part Seifer Almasy in "A Fate Worse Than Death." -rereads Chaos part- Oh, definitely._

_Longest Author's Notes EVER. That's because I add to them as I'm writing, so...sorry._

_So, I want to apologize right now for waiting so long for this chapter. I had actually finished this chapter a long while ago, and Cally beta-read it shortly after. I just wanted to wait until I had the next chapter mostly planned out before I put it up, because it leaves some questions dangling. However, I am currently working on Chapter 11, which will probably be the LAST chapter to this story, and I expect it to be done, beta'd, and up within the week. So, I hope everyone enjoyed this!_

_Read? Review!_


	11. Forgiving What I've Done

**Animal I Have Become**

_**Chapter Eleven – Forgiving What I've Done**_

_So let mercy come  
And wash away  
What I've done_

_I'll face myself  
To cross out what I've become  
Erase myself  
And let go of what I've done_

_For what I've done  
I start again  
And whatever pain may come  
Today this ends  
I'm forgiving what I've done_

-- Linkin Park,_What I've Done_

Everyone was exhausted. They'd all gone to bed around six or seven in the morning, so it was only natural that no one woke up until close to evening.

Except for Vincent. He woke up at one, blinking at the bright light coming from Yuffie's window – she'd thrown it open before they went to sleep, rejoicing that she could take the shutters down now. Yuffie herself lay unconscious next to him, snoring lightly.

He yawned slightly and sat up. Vincent rarely needed more than five or six hours of sleep to recuperate from a day's hard labor, unless he'd been drinking or injured, so it figured he'd be awake before everyone else. Listening, he found his deductions to be correct; the entire house full of people was asleep.

He took a bath (and made a mental note to have a shower head installed in Yuffie's bathroom – proper Wutain woman may bathe instead of shower, but he liked standing up while washing) and then padded downstairs in a pair of black pajama bottoms Yuffie had bought him.

To his surprise, someone else was awake.

Tifa, who was in the kitchen brewing coffee, turned and looked at him. She had obviously showered as well; that morning she'd been covered in ichor and blood, and had a longish scrape down the side of her face. That was gone, as well; she must have had someone cast cure on it.

"Hi." She said, sheepishly, looking down at the cup in her hands. She poured herself some of the coffee.

"Good...afternoon." Vincent replied, looking out the kitchen window, also unshuttered, at the height of the sun. He hadn't talked to Tifa since that ill-fated night the week previous, and it reminded him of things he didn't want to think about. Instead, he retrieved a mug and poured himself a cup of coffee as well.

They were quiet for a while, sipping their coffee and enjoying the silence.

"Vincent..." Tifa said, quietly. She was still staring at her cup of coffee. "I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" Vincent's brow wrinkled.

"For...you know." She sighed. "I still couldn't differentiate – I didn't realize how little you had control over him. Now I know. I mean...Galian Beast wouldn't have saved me last night. I saw you fighting him, when he attacked Yuffie. I guess...it sort of proved to me that you hated him as much as I did. That means...we're on the same side, you know?" She was still looking downward, and Vincent realized that this was very hard for her to articulate.

"Tifa..." Vincent let a small smile come across his lips. "No apology is necessary. I told you that."

Tifa shook her head. "It is, Vincent. I was being stupid – I should have known you wouldn't have attacked Shelke like that." She looked up, directly into his eyes. "Forgive me?"

Vincent blinked. "Of course."

Tifa smiled at him. As a way of showing her gratitude, she made the both of them a small breakfast. "I don't think anyone else is going to be up for a while yet."

"Why are _you_ awake?" Vincent asked. "You must be as tired as the rest of them."

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. Raising kids isn't exactly a cakewalk, especially six orphaned ones. Between staying up late at the bar and getting up early to take care of them, I guess I regenerate fast."

"That makes sense."

They spent the hours between then and when everyone began waking cleaning Yuffie's house. It was a disaster area; Vincent, wrinkling his nose, undertook the living room, which had been a temporary hospital. There was bloodied bandaging and surgical tools strewn everywhere. The tools he put into a plastic footlocker; Vincent figured he could give them to Rufus, as they were all Shinra property. The drop-carpets were covered in blood and were completely disgusting. Those, Vincent removed to the large metal canister they'd come in, in the garage. As far as he knew, the WRO would be arriving sometime within the next day or so to collect them for cleaning.

The plastic sheeting that had hung over the walls he threw into a dumpster Yuffie'd thoughtfully had set at the end of her driveway.

He then scrubbed everything with astringent and replaced the couches and tables in something resembling their previous order. Tifa helped him move the entertainment center accouterments from the basement back to their former spot, and then they declared the living room clean.

While Vincent had been slaving away on that project, Tifa had collected everyone's gear; Yuffie's materia had gone back into the garage, to be organized by the ninja at a later date. Everyone else's things were cleaned; if they belonged to Yuffie Tifa put them in their proper spot in the garage. Everything else was put in their lockers; an idea Yuffie had had sometime in the last month. They sat gleaming in the garage, next to the weapons.

Several WRO squads had brought back their gear; the majority of them slept in Yuffie's dining room, where Rufus had erected a lot of collapsable cots. The gear that belonged to Yuffie was sitting in a pile at the end of the room. Vincent and Tifa sorted through those things; the bags were all covered in blood but the majority of them were salvageable, so Vincent set them to washing. The other things in her emergency kits they put into boxes, to be re-assembled later if Yuffie so wished.

The thermoses, they rinsed and put in the dishwasher. They'd come in handy and Vincent wondered if Yuffie planned on keeping them.

Around four thirty, they began preparing a large breakfast for everyone; Tifa could hear some of the WRO squads stirring and figured that was the beginning of an onslaught of hungry people. Vincent fired up the overlarge coffee maker Yuffie had, and Tifa began scrambling powdered eggs.

The WRO squads had all woken up by the time it was finished; Vincent enlisted their help in breaking down the cots and setting the dining room up. The squads also gratefully got his permission to use the three bathrooms downstairs to clean themselves off. Rufus and Reeve had prepared for this and had clean uniforms and clothing available for them.

By the time the WRO squads and the rest of the house had awoken, Vincent and Tifa had breakfast ready for them, as well as lots of coffee and orange juice. Yuffie stumbled downstairs and was startled to find that it was not a total disaster area.

She thanked them profusely. "Thanks, so much, guys." She said, grinning. "I stayed up in the room for at least thirty minutes, putting it off. I so did not wanna deal with it."

"Well, now you don't have to." Tifa grinned back at her.

Reeve dismissed the WRO troops after their late breakfast. "We did a good job, guys. You deserve my thanks, and a good break. Go have a drink." He glanced at Rufus. "On me, even. Bonuses next check!"

This aroused whoops and cheering as the crew headed for Yuffie's front door.

"Okay, so, can we party now?" Tasha asked, innocently. This led to laughter and cries for beer. The party had begun.

**- - - - - **

Well-fortified by a good day's sleep, AVALANCHE and their compatriots did, indeed, party. Yuffie even gave Marlene and Denzel a beer apiece, claiming they'd earned it when Barret rounded on her.

The large man scratched the back of his head sheepishly and then gave his adopted daughter a look of pride. "Yeah, they did." Then his face took on a stern look. "Only one, though!"

Tifa giggled to Yuffie after Barret left. "Marlene's been drinking on holidays since she was 13."

"I know." Yuffie whispered back to her. "You think I'd give her a whole forty without knowing if she could handle it?"

Knowing it was safe, they threw the doors open to the mansion and eventually most of them spilled out onto Yuffie's front lawn, where she set up her nighttime lights and music. After it got cold and dark, they migrated back inside, joined by several of Yuffie's new neighbors, all of whom were delighted at the concept of a party after such a horrific experience.

Eventually someone got the bright idea to have karaoke, which made Vincent grimace. His bad mood was only worsened by hearing Cid try to drunkenly sing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

"If it makes you feel any better, I got the whole thing on camera." Tasha nudged the gunslinger and patted her camcorder. "And I think I'll put it up on the 'Net."

That did brighten Vincent considerably and the medic laughed.

So it happened that when Tifa and Vincent awakened very late the next morning, they had a lot of cleaning to do, all over again. But it was a much happier sort of mess, and they did not mind doing it.

**- - - - - **

Over the next few days, the happy band that had been living in Yuffie's house for so long wandered home. Cally and Rufus were the first to leave; they had an entire mansion to clean. Then Tifa and Cloud took the orphans, knowing they'd have quite a mess to clean up as well. Tifa planned on enlisting her adopted children's aid. One by one they left until it was just Vincent and Yuffie.

"Man, this place feels...empty." Yuffie said, frowning. "I don't like it empty."

Vincent didn't reply to that, but privately he thought that while it was nice just being the two of them again, it did feel echoingly empty in the mansion now.

Later that day Yuffie and Vincent left for Healin Lodge, where they said hi to Akai. Yuffie scratched the bird below his beak while Vincent talked to Quistis.

"He's fine, although a little worse for wear." She said, referring to the bird. "I think he may have bruised his wing in the fray; keep a watch on it for a few days."

Vincent nodded, storing that nugget away in his mind. Then, tentatively, he brought up his demons.

"During...the alignment." He began, not knowing how to phrase his question. "I encountered..."

Quistis turned and looked at him.

"The demons. _My_ demons." He stressed. "Galian Beast, Hellmasker, and Death Gigas."

"No Chaos?" Quistis asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Chaos was there, but..."

"Chaos is a summon, so someone must have summoned him." Quistis pointed out, somberly.

He was startled. "How did you know?"

She smiled. "It was in Dr. Crescent' thesis. I was there when she discovered the Protomateria and used it to taint Mako to produce Chaos the first time."

"Yuffie inadvertently summoned him." Vincent said. This was not what he'd wanted to talk about. "But my demons. They were there. I thought we'd killed them."

Quistis shook her head. "No. We eradicated their psyches from your mind, Vincent. The demons still existed as very real creatures; the moment we forced their consciousness from your brain, they snapped back to their real bodies."

"Ah." That made, actually, a lot of sense to Vincent. "Then why was Galian Beast so infatuated with Yuffie? I thought it was a manifestation...on my part."

"That might be what started it, Vincent." Quistis said, seriously. "But the Galian Beast has a rich history in 'claiming' young women. If you read back through Wutain mythology, you see him reappear a lot. A lot of women in Yuffie's line have been raped and killed by him."

Vincent's eyes widened. "Wutain mythology?"

"Of course." Quistis smiled. "Galian Beast, and the rest of your demons, were very ancient creatures, Vincent. You encounter them a lot in mythology. They love to terrorize villages and kill people off. It's kind of their calling card."

"I killed them." He said.

Her mouth formed an O. "Seriously? Wow, Vincent. That must have been hard."

He shook his head. "Not really. I was them, once. I know their weaknesses."

"Good point." She turned toward her book case and scanned it before extracting a book and handing it to him. "This book has a lot about your demons, Vincent, as well as others like them. If you're interested, you're welcome to borrow it."

He glanced down. It had been written by Lucrecia.

"No, thank you." He said, politely. He handed it back and she smiled.

"Alright. You guys picking up Akai today?"

Vincent shook his head. "We're in the process of making a stable for him on Yuffie's property. Do you think Rufus would mind if we kept him here for a while longer?"

"I don't think so. I'll ask, but it's probably alright. Did you guys drive all the way out here just to see a bird?" Her face was incredulous.

"No, Yuffie wants to go to the bulk store here and buy more supplies." Vincent rolled his eyes. "She's obsessed with keeping the house stockpiled."

Quistis grinned. "Well, her obsession came in handy this time, Vincent. Who knows what the future brings? Besides, you guys have the gil to make it a reality. It can't hurt."

"This is true." Vincent agreed. He bid the scientist farewell and met Yuffie at the entrance of the facility.

"Did you ask about the demons?" Yuffie asked. She still had a cut on her lip from the attack by Galian Beast.

Vincent nodded, but didn't elaborate. Yuffie didn't prod.

They did stock up; more than they really needed, but the majority of it could be frozen or would keep for a long time with refrigeration; the rest was canned and dried. Yuffie also bought more things for her emergency kits; despite Vincent's dislike of the concept, she wanted to continue bounty hunting.

Later that day, while Vincent tinkered with Kenny's bike, Yuffie made the arrangements for the contractor to come survey her property for the chocobo stable.

It was sometime in between then and dinner that Rufus and Cally showed up. They'd spent the last few days restoring order to Rufus' house and moving Cally's things over; she insisted on a separate bedroom for herself, but had no qualms about living with her new boyfriend.

"Not that she's slept in it the past few days." Rufus confided to Yuffie, grinning. She smiled, happy that he'd found happiness after all these years.

As it happened, however, Rufus was coming to discuss a vacation.

"I promised Cally some time off before all of this went down." He said, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. He was clutching a cup of coffee, which Vincent had just handed him. "I think that probably after Halloween we can get things calmed down enough...that the both of us could head somewhere warm for a week."

"That's a good idea." Yuffie said. She and Vincent were preparing dinner for the four of them. "I think you both need a break, after this shit."

"We were thinking of going to Wutai." Rufus blurted. "It's warm and there's good food."

Yuffie smiled, a little sadly. "That's true, the food is good."

"I was thinking you two could go with us."

There was a tense silence for a few minutes before Yuffie spoke up.

"I dunno, Rufus. There's still a lot of bad blood between my father and I."

"I know." Rufus put in. "But this would be a good chance to clear the air, you know? You don't even have to go see him, if you don't want. Just go hang out at the beach or go climbing Da Chao or something. You need a vacation as much as I do, Yuff."

"And you could pick up the master materia." Vincent pointed out, a small smirk coming over his face.

Yuffie pouted. "You _had_ to bring up the materia, didn't you?"

Vincent's face was somber now. "I only exploit your weaknesses for good, Yuffie. I think it would a good time to meet your younger brother."

Yuffie glared at him and then stirred the soup she was cooking a little hard. Some of it sloshed over the edge of the pan.

"Besides, I have business with Godo." Rufus said, brushing a bit of lint off of his jacket. "Between the reparations that he finally agreed to take, and a rental fee..."

"Rental fee?" Yuffie turned back to him.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." The grin on Rufus' face was a wide one. "The guys in the aeronautics lab decided that the northern tip of Wutai would be perfect for a shuttle launch pad. That's going to be where our new space program is going to be based. Obviously, the aeronautics lab is still going to be located in Healin, but the pad and offices will be in Wutai. Lots of jobs for Wutaians, and of course there's the fees we'd be paying Wutai for the use of the land..."

"Which, of course, Godo couldn't turn down because it would be a valid reason to be receiving money." Yuffie chuckled. "That's evil and downright genius, Rufus."

"Vincent actually suggested it." Rufus said, an apologetic look coming over his face. He glanced at Vincent. "The night the guys all slept in the living room. I mean, he didn't suggest restarting the space program, but he said that some sort of outlet in Wutai in perpetuity would, you know, stoke the economy there."

"I did?" Vincent didn't remember that.

"Yeah, somewhere in between the second six-pack of Red Stripe and that last bottle of rum." Rufus chuckled.

They were quiet for a while – Yuffie was dishing out soup into bowls and Vincent was carving up the prime rib Yuffie had secured at the store. There would be a ridiculous amount of leftovers, which Vincent said could be made into sandwich meat. Rufus, doing his part, was putzing around with mashed potatoes. Cally had been setting up the table, and she walked in just in time to secure her own plate of food.

Yuffie wasn't one for fine dining, so she gave everyone glasses with ice and set a 2 liter bottle of Coke on the table.

It wasn't until about halfway through the meal when Rufus brought up Wutai again.

"I really do think it would be a good idea for you to go with us, Yuffie." Rufus said, seriously. "And if you really want it would be a business trip. I need you to check out the site the aeronautics guys suggested." He grinned. "If you want, it'd be your first job in aeronautics. If you want it, that is."

Yuffie stopped eating and set her fork down before she regarded him. "So you're really going to restart the aerospace program?"

"You know I've just been waiting for the right time." He said. "This seems as good a time as any. And I know that's the only reason you took up bounty hunting, is because you were waiting for the space program." He gave her a Look. "How 'bout it, Yuff? Nice, stable job here in Kalm, occasional business vacations to Wutai. Maybe you'd even get to go up in space again – the aeronautics guys have started a plan for a space station, and you'd probably be in charge of that. Cid would be green with envy."

Yuffie smirked. "No, he wouldn't, because I would insist that he be on my staff."

"Is that your only request?" Rufus' eyes were twinkling.

"Well, other than a ridiculously large government salary, nope." Yuffie put her hands on her lap. "I would love a job in aeronautics, Rufus. But I don't know about Wutai. Let me think about it."

Rufus nodded. "Sure thing. Halloween is next week, and I wouldn't be leaving until after then anyway. Let me know."

"I will."

**- - - - - **

Shinra had always had a few annual parties; one at Christmas, one at New Years, one for Halloween, and the annual employee barbecue mid-July. Despite being semi-formal Shinra-sponsored events, they tended to get rowdy. A long-held Shinra employee saying was "What happens at the Shinra Party, stays at the Shinra Party."

Vincent was not looking forward to this.

"Explain to me again why I have to attend?" He asked. Yuffie was putting the finishing touches on their costumes; they were going as vampires, which Vincent had protested at for several days before finally giving in. His costume was basically what he wore when he was fighting, with the addition of adhesive fangs. Yuffie had considered doing his face up white, but then declared that he was pasty enough.

She was wearing the dress he'd taken her to Holy in, and actually had done herself up white. Years of bounty hunting had burnished her skin a dark olive tone, and she'd had to cover it up. Once she was done and had applied the fangs (her hair was ornately put up in the geisha style, which complemented the outfit), Vincent had to say she made quite the attractive vampire.

"We have to go because Rufus has invited us." Yuffie said, applying a bit more lipstick to her mouth before sliding the tube of makeup into her purse. "He invited the rest of AVALANCHE, too, so at least we won't be alone."

Vincent sighed but stopped protesting. There was a honk outside; Cally had agreed to pick them up, as neither had an enclosed vehicle.

"Come on, she's waiting!" Yuffie exclaimed. She grinned at him and grabbed his hand, dashing to the front door.

Cally was also a vampire.

Yuffie chuckled. "Like brother like sister, I suppose."

Cally pouted. "I was hoping to be original."

"You're related to Vincent freaking Valentine. There's no way anything about vampires will be original." Yuffie said.

Vincent sighed.

**- - - - - **

Rufus was _not_ a vampire.

He was the Phantom of the Opera, which Yuffie said was possibly more corny. Rufus rolled his one visible eye at her before asking Cally to dance.

The rest of AVALANCHE had come, as well. Tifa had come as a Budweiser Chick, which startled Yuffie for a brief moment before she remembered what Tifa used to wear when they were hunting Sephiroth. Reeve cracked Yuffie up the most by garbing himself as Sephiroth – the two men had been entirely different, and Tasha (dressed up as a disfigured Sith Lord) made numerous references to Sephiroth coming back from the dead to smite Reeve.

Barret and Cid had refused to dress up. "Hell, I saved the world a few times." Cid said, puffing away on his ever-present cigarette. "I think that I oughtta be an acceptable Halloween costume by now, eh, Barret?" He clouted the black man on the shoulder.

"God, you guys are boring. Even Cloud dressed up." And he had. He wore the outfit he'd worn to Don Corneo's ten years previously. It was downright scary what a good woman he made.

"Ugh, Cloud, be careful!" Yuffie said, throwing her hands over her eyes. "If you aren't, you might get hit on by Reno!"

The blond's face fell for a brief moment before an evil grin came over it. "But wouldn't it be priceless? Someone needs to get a camcorder in case he does."

The dinner part was fast; everyone wanted to get to the dancing. And, in Reno's words, "The boozin'!"

Reno, for his part, did hit on Cloud for the comedic value. Yuffie did get it on camera and threaten to upload it to the 'Net. And then Reno hit on Tifa, with the video camera still rolling. The resulting fight between "Miss Cloud" and Reno was henceforth uploaded to the 'Net, where "Celebrity Death Match: She-Man Versus Turk" became a big hit.

At the back of the video, one can barely make out Vincent Valentine, trying to pull fake fangs out of his mouth.

**- - - - - **

The Halloween party had been held the Saturday prior to Halloween, which fell on a Tuesday this year. That Tuesday, Yuffie handed out candy like it was going out of style, and Vincent hid away in the living room.

9 p.m. was the curfew and at that point Yuffie shut off her porch light and cuddled with her boyfriend in the living room, where they watched the original "Night of the Living Dead" and Yuffie cackled at the horribleness of it, occasionally throwing popcorn at the screen.

"That's going to leave butter streaks on the LCD." Vincent pointed out.

"I don't care, Vince. This movie is so horrific that it deserves buttery screenage." Yuffie shoved some of the popcorn into her mouth. "This is awesome, by the way."

"The popcorn?" Vincent asked, his eyebrow quirked. "It came out of a microwave bag."

"No, no." Yuffie said, sitting up slightly. "No, just...us. Being able to hang out like this and just..be together."

Vincent smiled slightly. "Yes, I guess it is."

They watched the rest of the movie in silence, except for the occasional delighted chuckle from Yuffie.

"Have you given any thought to Wutai?" Vincent asked her, once they turned off the television. They were in the process of cleaning up popcorn bits from what Yuffie called "MST3K-tourettes."

"Kinda." Yuffie said, distractedly. She was reaching around the television. "I mean, I sort of want to go. I miss Wutai, a lot. But...I'm afraid, I guess. Afraid to see Dad after all these years. He was getting old before I left, you know? He's no spring chicken, for sure." She came up with a small handful of greasy popcorn. "Also..you know, he hasn't written me back. He's talked to Rufus, but not me. I guess I'm a little hurt, and kind of worried he'll yell at me. I'm not a little kid anymore, and he always treated me like one."

Vincent was quiet for a long while before he answered. "I don't think that ever really changes, Yuffie. My mother continued treating me like a child up until my disappearance. She even served me green tea ice cream the last time I'd visited her. By then I was the commander of the Turks. I was the same age you are now. I think that Marlene could be married and have two children and Barret would still treat her like the small child he adopted so long ago. Parents...always think of their children as children. I think that is the way of the world."

Yuffie looked at him. "You know, every time I think I've got you figured out, Vince, you come out with something insightful like that." She smiled and tossed the popcorn into a garbage can before crossing to him and wrapping her arms around him. "Thanks, Vince."

"For what?" Vincent frowned.

"For being so Goddamned smart. Now shut up and take me upstairs before I stop feeling all romantic."

**- - - - - **

_Six months later._

Yuffie had never felt so nervous in her life.

Rufus bowed to Godo and began introducing his aeronautics team. He got to her, last, of course.

"And I believe you know Yuffie Kisaragi." Rufus said, smiling. "She's the head of my Aerospace Development department. She'll be heading up the Space Station program."

Ignoring all civility, Godo fixed his gaze on Yuffie. "I thought you said you were a bounty hunter." He said, as if he'd caught her in a lie.

"I was." Yuffie said, smirking and hiding her nervousness.

Vincent, from his place at the back of the room, smirked himself. Yuffie was doing very well at containing her nerves. He knew how upset she'd been when Rufus had explained that he'd have to introduce the aeronautics department to Godo.

The formal introductions done, the group dispersed, and Godo pinned Yuffie under his stare.

"How's it going?" Yuffie asked, scratching her head, nervously. It reminded Vincent very vaguely of a habit Cid had during his more nervous moments. The pilot himself was in the corner, serving himself some jasmine tea and smacking happily.

"Ain't no place on the planet that makes a better tea than Wutai, eh, Vince?" He said, grinning and offering the gunslinger a cup.

Vincent accepted gravely.

"So how's that bounty hunting thing goin', man?" Cid asked, conversationally. When Yuffie had agreed to become the head of the Aerospace Development department of Shinra, Rufus had pointed out that he was losing a very good bounty hunter, and then had looked pointedly at Vincent. Despite his reservations, Vincent found that he was good at the job, and enjoyed dispensing some form of justice. He had adopted many of Yuffie's protocols, including the emergency pack. Occasionally, if she was free and it was a difficult job, Yuffie would come with him. This led to a lot of cracks about the two of them being a crime-fighting duo from the majority of AVALANCHE, especially Cloud. It was usually followed by an offer to help design costumes from Tifa. At the mention of neon spandex, Vincent would usually glare and excuse himself.

"It's okay." Vincent temporized.

"Never woulda thought you'd go back to workin' for the Shinra." Cid said, leaning back next to Vincent and watching Yuffie interact with her father.

"Rufus is a different sort of person now." Vincent pointed out. "The company is being run much better between him and my sister."

"Yeahhhh. How's _that_ goin'?" Cid asked. He glanced toward Vincent out of the corner of his eyes. "You cool with Rufus datin' your sister?"

Vincent smiled. "I doubt I'd have any say in the matter even if I weren't. But I'd say they complement each other." And they did. Cally was organized in a disheveled sort of way, but had the drive that Rufus often lacked. Between them Shinra was flourishing; Shera had discovered a way to make her oil-powered turbines run cheaply and cleanly, and with her technology and Shinra's financial backing, people were gaining electric power more and more. It would never be as efficient as Mako energy, of course, but Rufus had banned any sort of Mako research not directly related to health issues.

Actually, Vincent had the idea that Rufus was keen on the idea of marrying his sister. However, he also figured that the President was wisely biding his time on that matter; Cally was a headstrong woman and one would have to ease her into the idea of a permanent relationship. As far as Vincent was aware, Rufus had Tasha working on it. He often feared for the medic's life if her friend found out about the arrangement.

Vincent glanced over toward Yuffie and her father. He could see, now, that they were in a posture he privately called Yuffie's "bargaining stance." It was the way she stood every time she went to a market and was haggling – arms crossed, feet spread to shoulder-width apart, a set look on her face. This did not bode well for anyone, ever.

Vincent excused himself from Cid's presence and walked toward his girlfriend. He caught the tail-end of the conversation.

"Three million and not a penny less." Yuffie said.

"Oh, for Leviathan's sake, Yuffie, they're _yours_. Take them." Godo said, exasperated. Vincent looked; the man was holding out three Master Materia.

"Nuh uh, they're my dowry. But I want to buy them! It's only right." She said.

"They were set aside for you from the moment you were born." Godo insisted. "Take them."

"They're only mine if I get married. And I'm not married. And even then, they're not mine, they're my husband's."

"Like I have any doubt in my mind that you wouldn't take them away from me the moment I slipped the ring onto your finger." Vincent said, coming up alongside her. Godo and him shared a wry glance at the woman's materia obsession.

"That is beside the point." Yuffie responded, primly. "I want to buy them!"

"Ah, if your mother were here right now she'd force you to take them." Godo said, vehemently.

"Well, she's not, so you have to deal with me, old man." Yuffie said.

Vincent raised his eyebrow and Yuffie shut up then, remembering that Vincent was getting close to Godo's age.

The two squabbled for a while before Vincent pointed out that it was near dinner time. Godo chose then to invite the two of them to the evening meal with his family.

That Yuffie was dating a man significantly older than her did not seem to upset, nor surprise, the Wutaian leader. When Vincent mentioned it later in their room, while they were getting dressed for supper, she grinned at him.

"Of course not. His new wife is only a little bit older than me. It's normal in Wutaian culture for ladies to marry much older men. He wouldn't care, actually. I think he's probably just happy I'm with a guy." She rolled her eyes. "I think he suspected I was a lesbian for a long time, I'm such a tomboy."

Vincent blinked. "_I_never suspected such a thing."

"Of course you wouldn't. You were actually there to see me have a crush on Cloud. But Godo wasn't. He...really doesn't know me that well." She wore a slightly sad look on her face.

They didn't continue that thread of conversation. In fact, once she stripped down to her underthings to change, they didn't have much of a conversation at all.

**- - - - - **

Dinnertime at Godo Kisaragi's house was a mixture of traditional Wutaian culture and loud punctuated remarks about the "Great Ninja Yuffie!" from Godo's youngest child.

Fumiko, Godo's wife, was every bit a typical demure Wutaian woman. Vincent could see why Yuffie wouldn't get along with her. However, a definite affection lay between the woman and her husband, and Vincent found some comfort in that. At least marriages weren't all contracts in Wutai, as Yuffie had led him to believe.

Yuffie was showering her younger brother with attention, which the boy soaked up happily. Vincent stored that tidbit of information away for later; next time Yuffie argued that she was not good with children, he would bring this up. Not that Vincent had any ideas about children. He figured that they would...simply see where life took them.

Godo had many things on his mind, which he brought up after presenting Yuffie with her Master Materia. She insisted on paying for it, but the two of them negotiated their way back to one million gil instead of Yuffie's insisted three million.

Yuffie and Godo discussed her employment with Shinra, how the space program could benefit Wutai, and agricultural techniques – Yuffie, being an aerospace technician, had rather more knowledge of horticulture than Vincent would have believed. He asked about it.

"Oh, well, my focus in school was on space station design. Of course I'd know about horticulture and hydroponics." Yuffie smiled at Vincent. "It's kind of a necessity, you know, providing any onboard staff with food and renewable oxygen."

"I have heard that one of the plants you are planning on using for oxygen production is hemp." Godo said, disapproval lining his face. Drug use was not tolerated in Wutai.

"Yeah." Yuffie said. "Industrial hemp. It produces a lot of oxygen, but industrial hemp doesn't have the THC content that regular marijuana plants have. You can't get high off of it. Also, they can use it to make sturdy cloth and rope out of, and the seeds can be used to produce oil for Shera's power stations."

Satisfied with her response, they turned back to agriculture. Yuffie suggested an old Wutaian technique to Godo – one she'd read about in her research from the alignment.

"Legend has it that back in the day, when they planted rice and other plants, the seed was buried with a dead fish. It provided fertilizer, which ensured good plants and a long life." Yuffie smiled at Godo. "Since fishing is the one industry Wutai isn't failing on, it seems to me that it'd be a good practice to revive."

Godo pondered that for a while and then nodded. "I will suggest it to my farmers." A vague sense of relief showed on his face; it was a possible solution to Wutai's current problem. They couldn't be a self-sustaining country if they didn't have their own agriculture.

Then the larger man planted Vincent with a stern look. "I wish to ask, Valentine, whether your intentions with my daughter are honorable."

Vincent, much to Yuffie's surprise, had a glib reply already prepared. "If I thought your daughter would agree to marry me, my intentions would be more than honorable." He looked unconcerned, instead picking up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and inspecting it warily.

Godo turned to Yuffie. "You don't want to marry him?" His train of thought was obvious; there must be something wrong with Vincent if Yuffie were not jumping at the idea of marriage.

Yuffie was not concerned, either. "It's not that I don't want to be with Vincent, Dad. I just don't feel like marrying anyone. If I were going to, Vincent'd be at the top of the list."

Godo regarded her suspiciously for a moment before turning back to his food. Yuffie smirked a little and then ate a piece of her sushi, before exclaiming happily over finally having some real, honest-to-Leviathan Wutaian sushi. Vincent raised his eyebrow at her, and then looked downward, a smile on his face over the antics of his girlfriend.

**- - - - - **

"So, you never did tell me, Vince, why you're so cool with me not wanting to get married." Yuffie said, as they walked into the house. It had been empty for a week while they took care of business in Wutai; the entire place was in need of a thorough dusting.

Vincent noted this as Yuffie let loose with a barrage of sneezes. "Maybe we ought to call that cleaning service again." He said, thoughtfully.

"Eugh, maybe. It's gross in here." Yuffie sniffled and grabbed at the box of tissues she kept on the stand by the door.

They walked upstairs to their room and set their things on the bed before Vincent dug out the number of that cleaning service. "Do you want to call them now?"

"Nah." Yuffie said, throwing herself on the bed. "I want to relax. God, I hate airships. If I ain't flying, I get nauseated like whoa."

They cleaned off enough of the living room to sit and watch movies, which was Yuffie's form of relaxing. Vincent even made her a plate of yummy snacks, which she reveled in.

"Oh my God, these are so good." She said, munching on a stuffed mushroom. "Seriously, Vince, you ought to go into the cooking business. We could sell your amazing food and your sexiness."

"I don't think 'sexiness' is actually a word." Vincent pointed out.

"It is now." Yuffie retorted, snagging another mushroom. They were quiet for a while, watching an action movie Yuffie insisted on, before Yuffie turned back to him.

"You know, you never answered me. Why is it that you're not bitching and whining about me not wanting to get married?" She cocked her head to the side. "I mean, I know it means a lot to you, Vince."

Vincent shrugged and swallowed the snack he was chewing.

"Nuh uh, mister. Not getting out of it this time." She prodded him in the shoulder.

"I don't know, Yuffie." Vincent smiled at her. "I suppose...good things are worth waiting for."

_Author's Notes: The dead fish thing is actually an old Native American agricultural technique, from shortly after they made the switch from hunter/gatherer to agricultural societies. I don't recall offhand which tribe; if anyone knows, please PM me, because it's driving me insane!_

_I doubt I will ever write a sequel to this because I just feel I tied up enough loose ends. If anyone feels they see a plothole let me know. This is a slight rewrite of the original final chapter, and I fixed a few things, but I think it actually came out alright for it's length._

_My beta-reader, Cally, has asked me to extend her apologies to my readers for the delay in the beta-reading process. Trust me when I say that the holiday season is definitely not a blast for her, what with her work. She had a very valid excuse. _

_Read? Review!_


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